Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday that it expects its group operating profit to nearly triple to ¥1 trillion for the business year ending next March, a sharp recovery from a disaster-plagued year that also saw the yen surge against major currencies.
The bullish outlook for Asia's No. 1 automaker contrasts with a ¥355.63 billion operating profit for the year that ended on March 31 — a year that saw a 24.1 percent drop from the one before due to the effects of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in the Tohoku region and floods in Thailand, which disrupted auto parts supply chains and stalled production.
"Business environments were very severe last year, including the earthquake in eastern Japan, the floods in Thailand and the strong yen," Toyota President Akio Toyoda told a news conference.