TOKYO, May 8 (Reuters) – Toyota forecast a 20% decline in profit for the current financial year on Friday, as cost and supply uncertainties stemming from the Middle East conflict weigh on earnings even as robust demand for its hybrid models powers sales growth.
The world’s top-selling automaker expects an operating income of 3.0 trillion yen ($19 billion) in the year to March 2027, compared with a result of 3.77 trillion yen in the year just ended.
Toyota’s outlook for the year was well below the 4.59 trillion yen median forecast in an LSEG poll of 23 analysts.
Toyota said the lower outlook reflected limited scope for short-term measures to offset changes in the operating environment, with mid- to long-term steps only partly complete.
The automaker said last week its vehicle sales in the Middle East fell sharply in March after shipments to the region were disrupted.
The outlook is the first Toyota issued under new CEO Kenta Kon, who assumed his role last month and faces the challenge of steering the automaker through the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which cut operating profit in the year just ended by 1.4 trillion yen.
($1 = 156.8600 yen)
(Reporting by Daniel Leussink; Editing by Tom Hogue)
