Toyota posts nearly 20% drop in second-quarter operating profit, missing estimates

Japanese automaker Toyota Motor on Wednesday reported its first quarterly operating profit drop in about two years, as it strives to navigate the market shift toward electric vehicles.

Here are Toyota’s results compared with estimates from analysts, compiled by LSEG.

• Revenue: 11.44 trillion yen vs. 11.41 trillion yen
• Operating profit: 1.16 trillion yen vs. 1.24 trillion yen

The world’s largest automaker by sales volume saw a 20% year-on-year drop in operating profit during the quarter.

Net profit attributable to company more than halved to 573.7 billion yen from 1.28 trillion a year ago.

The automaker’s sales volume for the second-quarter slipped to 2.3 million from 2.42 million units a year ago.

Still, Toyota raised its full-year dividend forecast to 90 yen, up from 75 yen a year earlier.

Toyota has been slower in embracing fully battery-powered electric vehicles, with chairman Akio Toyoda reportedly saying that an “electric-vehicle only future” would lead to job losses in the automotive industry.

“There are 5.5 million people involved in the automotive industry in Japan. Among them are those who have been doing engine-related (work) for a long time,” Toyoda told reporters, according to Reuters.

“If electric vehicles simply become the only choice, including for our suppliers, those people’s jobs would be lost.”

The company maintained a full-year operating profit of 4.3 trillion yen.

Toyota also has been in the spotlight this year due to the multiple vehicle recalls, most recently in September.

The latest recall of 42,000 vehicles was over the loss of power brake assist that can extend the distance required to stop, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It affected certain 2023-2024 Corolla Cross Hybrid vehicles, the administration said.

Early in June, Toyota lost over $15 billion in market value after Japan’s Transport Ministry found false data was used by Japanese automakers to certify certain models.

The wide-ranging inspection by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism also found irregularities in certification applications by other automakers Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha.