Investing.com-- Toyota Motor Corp (TYO:7203) clocked a stronger profit for the December quarter, with the automaker hiking its annual earnings outlook amid sustained demand for its high-margin hybrid vehicles and strength in the dollar.
Toyota’s net income attributable jumped to 2.193 trillion yen ($14.31 billion) in the three months to December 31, from 1.358 trillion yen in the prior year.
This was on sales revenue of 12.391 trillion yen, up from 12.041 trillion yen a year ago.
Toyota’s operating income, however, missed expectations, coming in at 1.215 trillion yen for the quarter against Reuters estimates of 1.419 trillion yen. Operating income also fell from the prior year.
But despite softer margins on its vehicle sales, Toyota (NYSE:TM) benefited greatly from weakness in the yen and strength in the dollar through the December quarter, as expectations of protectionist policies under U.S. President Donald Trump boosted the greenback.
To this end, Toyota hiked its operating income outlook for the fiscal year to March 2025, now forecasting operating income of 4.700 trillion yen, up from its prior forecast of 4.300 trillion yen.
Annual net income is expected to be much higher at 4.520 trillion yen from a prior forecast of 3.570 trillion yen.
The Japanese automaker largely retained its status as the world’s best selling carmaker in 2024, having sold 10.8 million vehicles. Hybrids made up nearly 50% of total vehicle sales.
Toyota’s stronger outlook for fiscal 2025 saw the automaker was confident in its ability to ride out increased U.S. trade tariffs, especially those against Mexico, where the company has major manufacturing centers.