Toyota Braces for 3rd Consecutive Annual Profit Decline

Tokyo, May 8 (Jiji Press)–Toyota Motor Corp. said Friday that its net profit in the current business year is expected to fall for the third consecutive year amid the harsh business environment due to the deteriorating situation in the Middle East. For fiscal 2026, which started in April, the leading Japanese automaker projected a consolidated net profit of 3 trillion yen, down 22 pct from the previous year, and an operating profit of 3 trillion yen, down 20.3 pct. Sales are forecast to increase 0.6 pct to 51 trillion yen. Toyota estimated that the Middle East situation will reduce its profits by 670 billion yen for the current year. In addition, higher U.S. tariffs imposed by the administration of President Donald Trump are expected to continue weighing on its earnings. The Toyota group’s global vehicle sales are estimated to decrease 0.9 pct to 11.18 million units. In fiscal 2025, which ended this March, Toyota’s sales grew 5.5 pct to 50,684.9 billion yen, exceeding the 50-trillion-yen mark for the first time, partly thanks to strong sales of its hybrid vehicles in the North American market. However, Toyota saw its operating profit drop 21.5 pct to 3,766.2 billion yen, and its net profit fall 19.2 pct to 3,848 billion yen. The negative impact of higher U.S. tariffs was put at 1,380 billion yen. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]