TOKYO: Toyota Motor Corp. on Thursday reported a consolidated net profit of 158,843 million yen for the April-June quarter, down 74.3 percent from a year earlier.

In the first quarter of fiscal 2020, the leading Japanese automaker’s revenues slumped 40.4 percent to 4,600,796 million yen, and its operating profit plummeted 98.1 percent to 13,920 million yen.

Toyota saw demand for new automobiles sharply fall amid the spread of the novel coronavirus around the world.

For the whole of fiscal 2020, the company projected an operating profit of 500 billion yen, down 79.2 percent from fiscal 2019, and a net profit of 730 billion yen, down 64.1 percent, as well as revenues of 24 trillion yen, down 19.6 percent.

Meanwhile, Toyota revised up its fiscal 2020 global vehicle sales estimate to 9.1 million units from 8.9 million units.

Its global sales are believed to have bottomed out in April, with sport utility vehicles now selling well in the United States and China, according to company officials.

Global auto demand is “recovering faster than initially expected,” a Tokyo public relations official said.

JIJI Press