Toyota Returns To Profitability Despite Recall Woes

Toyota has showed its resilience by achieving a net profit of 112.2 billion yen (USD 1.2 billion) in the three months up till March 31, compared to a net loss of 765.8 billion yen (USD 8.2 billion) a year earlier. Sales increased by 49 percent to 5.28 trillion yen (USD 56.88 billion) in the three months, up from 3.54 trillion yen (USD 37.95 billion) a year earlier.

For the entire financial year, Toyota managed to earn a net profit of 209.46 billion yen (USD 2.24 billion) from sales of 18.95 trillion yen (USD 203.42 billion). And the corporate icon of Japan is forecasting a further 48 percent rise in net profit, accompanied by 1.3 percent gain in sales, for the current financial year ending March 31, 2011.

“After taking over amid a storm, I wanted to do anything to avoid a third straight year in the red”, Toyota President Akio Toyoda, grandson of the company's founder, said. “We're still in a storm—there's been no change on that front. But from the storm, we've begun to see glimpses of sunny but faraway skies”.

Such a positive earnings report is a massive boost for Toyota's confidence as it attempts to win back customer loyalty and lost sales resulting from the massive recalls of more than eight million vehicles worldwide. Public relation (PR) nightmare aside, Toyota is also facing a suit of legal actions in the U.S. for the injuries or deaths caused by sudden-accelerating Toyota vehicles.