Toyota Q4 plunges as March quake overshadows outlook

Toyota Motor yesterday said fourth quarter net profit tumbled 77 per cent due to the impact of the strong yen and the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, declining to give a forecast for the current year.

It said net profit for the January-March period fell to 25.4 billion yen ($314 million.)

Operating profit for the year ended March more than tripled from a year earlier, but Toyota said it was cut by 110 billion yen ($1.36 billion) as a result of Japan’s biggest recorded earthquake and tsunami.

The automaker yesterday said its production would begin to “normalise” from June onwards, earlier than previously thought after the disasters crippled supply chains and led to power shortages.

“Our efforts to bring production to normal are advancing,” Toyota president Akio Toyoda told reporters. “At home and overseas, we are expected to recover some 70 per cent of normal levels by June.”

Toyota said net profit in the year ended March doubled to 408.1 billion yen.