- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Israel pounds Lebanon ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Toddler among 4 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says 'very violent' Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Guardians maul Tigers, miracle Mets rally in MLB series openers
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Madrid beat Villarreal but Carvajal suffers knee injury
- Madrid beat Villarreal to move level with Liga leaders Barcelona
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- French rugby player on rape charge whistled but 'serene' on return
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Toddler among 3 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Kovacic stars as Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Thousands march for Palestinians ahead of Oct 7 anniversary
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
Toyota quarterly net profit beats estimates despite chip shortage
Toyota on Wednesday logged a forecast-beating net profit of $6.8 billion for the three months to December, even as a global chip crunch and a pandemic-driven parts shortage forced production cuts.
The Japanese auto giant, which kept its crown as the world's top-selling carmaker in 2021, left its annual net profit forecast unchanged but slightly lowered its full-year vehicle sales target.
It posted a 791.7 billion yen net profit for the three months to December, down around five percent on-year but far better than the 619.2 billion yen predicted by Bloomberg analysts.
For the nine months to December, the firm logged net profit of 2.31 trillion yen, a jump of 57.8 percent on-year. Sales for the same period rose 19.2 percent to 23.26 trillion yen.
"Despite negative factors such as constraints on supply due to the shortage of semiconductors and the spread of Covid-19, as well as the sharp rise in raw material costs, we achieved higher sales and profits" in the first nine months of the financial year, Toyota said in a statement.
This was a result of sales and marketing initiatives, "supply chain efforts" and the appeal of its new products, the company added.
The effect of foreign exchange rates boosted its operating profit by 445 billion yen in the nine-month period, it said.
Toyota cited the pandemic and chip shortage on a decision to slightly lower its production projection for the year to 8.5 million units from nine million, having already reduced it from 9.3 million in November.
"Despite reducing the production volume forecast, we have left the operating income forecast unchanged, taking into account the depreciation of the yen and the accumulation of profit improvement activities," Toyota said in the statement.
When the Covid pandemic first triggered a global drought of semiconductors -- an essential component of modern cars -- Toyota appeared better placed than its rivals to weather the crunch, having strengthened ties with its domestic suppliers after Japan's 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
But with the crisis showing no signs of ending, the automaker has found itself unable to escape the effects.
A weaker yen, high demand and internal cost-cutting measures have cushioned Toyota's profits despite the production cuts, and on Wednesday it maintained its full-year profit forecast of 2.49 trillion yen.
Toyota hung on to its title as the world's top-selling automaker last year when it sold nearly 10.5 million vehicles -- a jump of about 10 percent from 2020, including units made by its Daihatsu and Hino subsidiaries.
The firm increased its lead over German rival Volkswagen, which shifted 8.9 million vehicles in 2021, down 4.5 percent on-year owing to the chip drought.
The Japanese company also led US automobile sales last year, overtaking General Motors for the first time.
P.Martin--AMWN