TOKYO :Toyota Motor Corp warned that operating earnings this year could slump by a fifth"due to unprecedented increases in materials and logistics costs," on the back of a 33 per cent slide in fourth-quarter profit, sending its shares down more than 5 per cent.
The world's biggest automaker by sales, which fared well during the earlier months of a global chip shortage, has now joined international peers in slashing production thanks to the prolonged crunch as well as China's fresh COVID-19 restrictions. In the January-March quarter, its profit slumped by a third to 463.8 billion yen, also significantly below an average estimate of 521.1 billion yen.
The yen's sharp depreciation to two-decade lows has worked in favour of Japan's export-driven auto industry. But the surging raw material costs and global supply chain disruptions exacerbated by China's tough COVID measures are putting pressure on profitability.