TOKYO -- Toyota more than doubled its operating profit in the latest quarter, as a free flowing supply of vehicles fed booming sales in every major market.
Riding the earnings upswing, Toyota lifted its forecast for record earnings in the full fiscal year, expanding on an earlier outlook that already called for record-level profits.
Toyota now expects full-year operating profit to balloon 65 percent to 4.5 trillion yen ($30.15 billion).
Operating profit at the world’s biggest automaker soared to 1.44 trillion yen ($9.65 billion) in the company’s fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 30, from 562.7 billion yen ($3.77 billion) a year earlier.
On a global basis, Toyota delivered a stellar double-digit operating profit margin of 12.6 percent in the quarter, up from a respectable 6.1 percent the year before.
Net income nearly tripled to 1.28 trillion yen ($8.58 billion) in July-September, from 434.2 billion ($2.91 billion) a year earlier.
Revenue surged 24 percent to 11.43 trillion yen ($76.58 billion) as the impact of rising volumes was multiplied by beneficial foreign exchange rates which bolstered yen-denominated earnings.
Toyota stormed ahead as the global semiconductor shortage faded, allowing the company to crank up its global manufacturing machine. Favorable foreign exchange rates also helped.
Consolidated global sales climbed 13 percent to 2.42 million units in the quarter, including shipments from the company’s Daihatsu minicar and Hino truck-making subsidiaries.
North American sales increased 15 percent to 703,000 units; Europe rose 17 percent to 270,000.
