Toyota profit jumps to $3.71 bn in Q1

PanARMENIAN.Net - Toyota said Friday, August 3 that its fiscal first-quarter profit skyrocketed to $3.71 billion as the Japanese auto giant recovered from last year's quake-tsunami disaster, AFP said.

The company said it earned 290.3 billion yen between April and June, up from just 1.16 billion yen a year ago -- the first full quarter after Japan was devastated by the March 11 natural disasters that dented production and demand.

Sales in the period shot up nearly 60 percent to 5.50 trillion yen, the automaker said. Its operating profit reached 353.14 billion yen, swinging back into the black after an operating loss of 107.96 billion yen a year ago.

Toyota kept its annual net profit forecast at 760 billion yen on sales of 22.0 trillion yen.

"In all regions, vehicle sales increased significantly due to strong recovery of demand which had suffered last year from the lack of supply caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake," Senior Managing Officer Takahiko Ijichi said in statement.