TOKYO, Dec 19 (KUNA) -- World's second-biggest automaker Toyota Motor Corp. will likely post its first-ever operating loss in the current year ending March 31 due to a plunge in sales worldwide and the yen's sharp appreciation, a major business daily here reported Friday.
Japan's top carmaker, which now reports its earnings based on US accounting standards, has booked a pretax loss just once, back in fiscal 1949, because of the chaotic situation in Japan just after World War II, the Nikkei Shimbun said.
However, it has never posted an operating loss since it began releasing earnings figures with fiscal 1940.
Toyota's new-car sales dropped 30 percent on the year for November in the three major markets of Japan, the US and Europe. The downturn is continuing in December, with sales in North America, in particular, worsening as approval standards for auto loans are tightened.
The severe global sales slump is estimated to depress the firm's profits by more than JPY 200 billion (USD 1.8 billion) in the current fiscal year, the newspaper said. In addition, the yen has risen sharply against other major currencies.
Toyota lowered its full-year forecasts when releasing its first-half earnings in November for a 13 percent year-on-year drop. The forecast for operating profit was revised down to JPY 600 billion (USD 5.4 billion), a 74 percent plunge from a year earlier. But business conditions have since deteriorated beyond what Toyota anticipated, the report added.
Copyright Kuwait News Agency 2008.
