TOKYO—Toyota Motor Corp. posted a record quarterly net profit of
¥ 646.4 billion ($5.21 billion) on Tuesday, as Japan's biggest auto
maker continued to bank on a weaker yen.
That was above the mean estimate of ¥ 607.5 billion, according
to analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. The company's quarterly
revenue was ¥ 6.99 trillion, up 9.4% from last year.
While Toyota was surpassed by Volkswagen AG for the top spot in
world-wide vehicle sales in the first half of the year, the size of
its profits continues to overwhelm its biggest rivals.
That is partly because of a weaker yen, which makes Toyota's
exports more profitable. In April-June 2014, Toyota's average
exchange rate was ¥ 102 against the dollar, while the dollar is
currently trading at around ¥ 124.
The pace of Toyota's U.S. sales growth, however, is slower than
its rivals. In April-June, Toyota's U.S. sales grew 1.7%, lower
than the industrywide growth rate of 3.3%. Sales of sport-utility
vehicles and pickups are growing, but passenger-car sales, which
account for more than half of Toyota's U.S. sales, fell nearly 8%.
In July, Toyota's U.S. sales rose just 0.6% from a strong
performance a year earlier.
Meanwhile, in China, the world's biggest auto market, Toyota has
been posting strong sales in recent months. In April-June, sales
grew 20% year-over-year, while in July, they rose 23.7%, backed by
strong sales of the Corolla and Levin sedans.
The recent slowdown in the Chinese auto market isn't fully
reflected in Toyota's first-quarter results because, like rival
Nissan Motor Co., there is a lag of one quarter in incorporating
China-related figures in the company's earnings.
Write to Yoko Kubota at yoko.kubota@wsj.com
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