TOKYO (Reuters) -Toyota Motor raised its full-year operating profit forecast by 9% on Wednesday, in a sign of confidence in its ability to ride out any potential U.S. tariffs.
The world’s top-selling automaker raised its profit forecast for the current year through March 2025 to 4.7 trillion yen ($30.7 billion) versus 4.3 trillion yen expected previously.
The upward revision took into account progress in strengthening its earnings power, backed by efforts to improve the competitiveness of its products, Toyota said in presentation materials.
Toyota made the revision despite posting a weaker-than-expected result for the third quarter, its second successive quarterly profit decline.
Operating profit for the three months through December totalled 1.22 trillion yen, down 28% from 1.68 trillion yen a year earlier and compared with the 1.42 trillion yen average of nine analyst estimates in an LSEG poll.
Over recent quarters, its profit was pushed higher by strong hybrid vehicle demand in the U.S. and other major markets.
Last week, Toyota reported global group unit sales of 10.8 million vehicles for 2024, making it the world’s best-selling automaker for a fifth successive year.
(Reporting by Daniel Leussink; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
