But Toyota trimmed its fiscal year vehicle sales forecast to 10 million vehicles, down from its previous forecast for 10.15 million vehicles.
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The world’s top-selling automaker said July-September operating profit rose to 827.40 billion yen ($6.81 billion) from 659.22 billion a year earlier, beating a mean estimate of 803.12 billion yen drawn from forecasts by 11 analysts, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S/ data.
Ongoing yen weakness is continuing to bolster profits at Japanese automakers, with Toyota expecting a sluggish domestic currency to add 65.0 billion yen to its bottom line for the year ending March 2016.
Yen weakness and strong United States sales are also benefiting Japan’s smaller automakers, with both Fuji Heavy Industries, which produces the Subaru brand, and Mazda Motor Corp both raising their full-year forecasts for sales and profits on Thursday.
Operating income increased 17.1% to 1.5834 trillion yen.
Tepid auto sales in China, the world’s biggest auto market, have cast a shadow over auto makers globally as vehicle prices there fall and profitability slips. Deliveries have slumped 7.8% to 1.65 million vehicles this year, putting the company’s sales on pace for third annual drop in five years.
The 2016 Prius will be the first model to implement Toyota’s company-wide effort to cut development costs by 20% through sharing platforms, parts and powertrains across its lineup. Profit increased by 14% from the year ago period to reach its highest level for any second quarter, the Wall Street Journal reports.
That stood in contrast to rival General Motors Co., which booked record operating profit in its core North American unit for the quarter ended September, fueled by decade-high USA demand for profitable trucks and sport-utility vehicles. Its quarterly net income was flat due to charges related to its ignition-switch crisis.
Toyota is the last of Japan’s major auto makers to release second-quarter results.
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But it is a different story in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and other emerging regions, where Toyota has a bigger presence than other vehicle makers, analysts said.
