TOKYO (AP) – Toyota Motor Corp. is projecting a 35 percent plunge in profit for the fiscal year through March 2017, as the perks of a favorable exchange rate fade, and it reported a 4 percent drop in profit for January-March on-year at 426.6 billion yen ($3.9 billion).
The Japanese automaker is expecting 1.5 trillion yen ($13.8 billion) in annual profit, a reversal after three straight years of record profits. That number could fare worse as it doesn’t account for recent production stops over supply shortages caused by a major earthquake in southwestern Japan.
Toyota, which makes the Prius hybrid, Camry sedan and Lexus luxury models, has had record profits for three years straight. But the perks from a weak currency that are a boon for Japan’s exporters like Toyota have dwindled in recent months.
For the fiscal year ended March, Toyota’s profit totaled 2.3 trillion yen ($21 billion), up 6.4 percent from the previous year, when it had recorded a 2.2 trillion yen profit.
January-March sales fell 2 percent to 6.9 trillion yen ($63 billion). Sales for the fiscal year gained 4 percent to 28.4 trillion yen ($261 billion).