Toyota Expects Its Profit to Fall 80% in the Coming Year

Toyota Motor (NYSE: TM) reported operating profit of 384 billion yen ($3.58 billion) for the quarter that ended on March 31, down 27.5% from a year ago, and warned that the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic could drive its operating profit down almost 80% over the next four quarters. 

But despite the warning, Toyota said that it will maintain its pre-outbreak levels of new-product and capital spending, more than $10 billion in the coming fiscal year, as it expects demand for new vehicles in the U.S. and Europe to fully recover in the first half of 2021.

In a news conference, CEO Akio Toyoda said that he expects the decline in vehicle sales following the coronavirus pandemic to be "bigger than during the Lehman crisis." But, he said, because Toyota expects to remain profitable in the coming fiscal year, it will continue investing in new products and future technologies, including self-driving vehicles. 

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Source Fool.com