Toyota Reports 9% Rise in Net, Sees Stagnant Growth Over Next Year

Toyota reported its net profit rose 9% from the year earlier period, but the company saw operating profit fall 2.8% in its latest quarter. Raw material costs and spending on quality control cut into the company's operating profit. Sales rose to $52.5 billion, a 10% gain over the year ago period, while North American vehicle sales came in at 714,000 - a 6.9% rise for the march-ended quarter. Looking to the next 12-month period, Toyota expects growth to stagnate with net income rising just 0.4% to $13.8 billion. In the just-ended fiscal year, profit rose 20% to ¥1.64 trillion yen. One reason is increased Capex spending to develop new vehicle models. Another reason for Toyota's expected slowdown is weakening North American sales. Toyota predicts sales gains there will slow to 1.6% in its next fiscal year after gaining 15.1% in its last fiscal year. Toyota shares traded down 0.55% in Japanese trading.

Sources: Press Release, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, TheStreet.com, MarketWatch,
Commentary: Note to US Auto Manufacturers - Adapt or Die • Toyota Threatens GM's Reign as Biggest Automaker • Toyota Continues To Gain U.S. Market Share At Expense of Big 3
Stocks/ETFs to watch: Toyota (TM). Competitors: Honda (HMC), Nissan (NSANY), General Motors (GM), Ford (F), DaimlerChrysler (DCX). ETFs: BLDRS Asia 50 ADR Index (ADRA)
Related: Toyota Investor Relations

Seeking Alpha's news briefs are combined into a pre-market summary called Wall Street Breakfast. Get Wall Street Breakfast by email -- it's free and takes only seconds to sign up.