Toyota is already downgrading its forecast for the 2011-12 fiscal year, which ends in March next year. The leaders of the auto giant are now aiming for an operating profit of 300 billion yen ($3,7 billion), down 35% on an annual basis. At the origin of these forecasts, obviously, the repercussions of last March's earthquake on the Japanese economy.
Previously, a pool of analysts from the Reuters agency was aiming for 434 billion yen in operating profit. Toyota, which is the world's number one automaker, has already admitted a 2011% decline in its profits for the first quarter of 52 due to the earthquake, which is also complicating the supply of Japanese-made components to its plants scattered throughout the world.
Toyota plans for 2011-2012 to manufacture 7,24 million vehicles against 7,3 in the previous year. Thus the group should slip behind General Motors and perhaps even behind Volkswagen in the world rankings of automakers.
Toyota stock has lost 7,5% on the stock market since the day of the catastrophe.
