Toyota Motor has today forecast a 20% profit decline in the current financial year, citing cost of investment in suppliers and strategy after the world's top-selling automaker delivered blockbuster fourth-quarter results.Operating profit surged 78% in the January-March fourth quarter. For the full year, it totalled 5.35 trillion yen - the first time for a Japanese company to top 5 trillion yen in operating profit, local media said.
It was long criticised for pursuing its"multi-pathway" strategy championing hybrids and plug-in hybrids as well as EVs, a stance that is increasingly looking prescient given consumer concerns about EV driving ranges and the availability of charging stations. "We'll make investments in order to firmly protect the supply chain from a perspective of sustainable growth," said Toyota CEO Koji Sato at a press conference after the release of the results.