Toyota eyes record profit for fiscal year 2013

Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday that it is set to make a record operating profit of 2.4 trillion yen ( 23.7 billion U.S. dollars) for the fiscal 2013 through March, thanks to a weaker yen and its cost-cutting measures. The figure was revised up from an earlier forecast of 2.2 trillion yen (21.7 billion dollars) and will beat the previous record of 2.27 trillion yen (22.4 billion dollars) in fiscal year 2007 before the international financial crisis took place. "Our upwardly revised forecast is due to progress in our recent profit improvement activities through cost reduction and marketing efforts, in addition to the change in our assumption of foreign exchange rates to reflect the depreciation of the yen," Toyota managing officer Takuo Sasaki said. The Japanese top carmaker also predicted a higher group net profit of 1.9 trillion yen (18.8 billion dollars), up from the previously estimated 1.67 trillion yen (16.5 billion dollars), on sales of 25.5 trillion yen (252 billion dollars).