Despite a slump in the automotive market and a major recall programme, Toyota has fought back to post healthy annual profits. South Korean rival, Kia also sees a sales boost.
Despite a recall programme costing some $2bn, Japan's car giant saw net income lift to Y209bn( $2.2bn) to March 2010 from a Y461bn ($4.9bn) loss in the previous financial year. The results were boosted by rapid and significant cost cutting after the recall crisis hit, as well as an massive turnaround in the final quarter with net profits of Y112bn ($1.2bn) from a Y765bn ($8bn) loss for the same quarter last year.
Overall, vehicles sales dropped by around 330 thousand units from the previous year, but this still accounted for 7.24 million Toyotas sold globally, with sales in Japan and Asia up but European and North American sales falling.
Toyota President, Akio Toyoda thanked the dealer network for its commitment and urged employees to work together to ensure "the company will return to its normal state as soon as possible". The results come only days after a warning from US Transporatation Secretary, Roy LaHood, that whilst he was encouraged by Toyota's new quality control processes, the company remains under close scruitiny to deliver continued improvement.
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Meanwhile there was also positive news for South Korean carmaker, Kia, who revealed a 36% increase in sales for April 2010 from the same time last year. China was the strongest market, followed by Korea and Europe.
The monthly boost lifts Kia's annual year-on-year sales to a 43.8% cumulative imporovement, again led by the Chinese market which has soared by 116%. The company's Cerato/Forte model has proved the most popular overseas seller.