Toyota Motor Corporation posted a 32 per cent jump in first-quarter operating profit today as powerful sales abroad helped the maker of the Lexus and Camry models and Prius hybrid cars offset losses from a weaker dollar.
Toyota, which last year overtook Ford as the world's biggest car seller behind General Motors Corporation, is cruising ahead of rivals thanks to an abundance of new products, cutting-edge technology and cost-cutting expertise.
Profits rose in every region during April-June as it stayed on track to slash annual costs by $1.8 billion. Toyota is already far more efficient than most rivals, having earned $1,570 for every car it sold last year, against around $440 for GM.
"We are aiming to match the previous term's profits this year even though we booked 100 billion yen ($902.1 million) of one-off pension-related gains last year," said Mr Takeshi Suzuki, senior managing director in charge of finances.
Operating profit at Toyota, the world's most valuable auto maker with a market capitalisation of $143.5 billion, was 448.62 billion yen ($4.05 billion) for the first quarter ended June 30th, compared with 340.77 billion yen in the year earlier period.
Net profit rose 29 per cent to 286.62 billion yen as sales climbed 10.2 per cent to 4.510 trillion yen.
Firm overseas sales also helped Japanese rivals Nissan and Honda raise profits in the quarter, but to a lesser degree.
Given the faster-than-expected sales growth, Toyota raised its 2004/05 global sales forecast by 2.6 per cent to 7.2 million vehicles for the group, which includes minicar unit Daihatsu Motor Co. and truck maker Hino Motors Ltd.