Toyota Motor Corp withdrew its full-year profit outlook on Tuesday as Thai floods pose a fresh threat to production just as it was recovering from supply shortages that battered profits after the March earthquake in Japan. Japan's largest automaker reaffirmed its commitment to manufacturing in Japan despite the weight of a stubbornly strong yen that makes its exports unprofitable and less competitive against cars from rivals such as Hyundai Motor Co.
Toyota has been particularly hard-hit by Thai flooding, along with Honda Motor Co, which also withdrew its earnings guidance. Toyota's three vehicle plants in its Southeast Asian export hub have been forced to halt work from October 10 until at least November 12 and a shortage of parts has also forced it to cut output in nine other countries including Japan.
Once the world's most envied and profitable automaker, Toyota has lost its shine against domestic rival Nissan Motor Co, which Toyota admitted on Tuesday may have proven more adept at dealing with supply-chain issues such as those triggered by the Thai floods. Toyota said its operating profit for July-September was 75.39 billion yen ($966 million), worse than an average estimate of 101.3 billion yen in a Reuters survey of 12 analysts. Second-quarter net profit was 80.42 billion yen, down 18.5 percent, while revenue fell 5 percent to 4.57 trillion yen.
Toyota withdrew its forecasts for profit and vehicle sales for the year to March 31, 2012, citing uncertainty surrounding the Thai flooding. It had forecast an operating profit of 450 billion yen three months ago, against a consensus forecast of 486 billion yen in a survey of 21 analysts by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Toyota said the Thai calamity would force it to keep its Japanese production reduced at least until November 18. It was still undecided on production elsewhere, including in Thailand. Between October 10 and November 12, Toyota will lose production of about 150,000 vehicles from the supply shortage, it said.
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