Toyota warns profit to skid 20%

TOKYO:

Toyota Motor warned “unprecedented” hikes in raw material costs could slice a fifth off full-year profit, a clear sign the world’s top automaker by sales can no longer shrug off the supply chain crunch that has roiled the global industry.

Also reporting a 33% drop in fourth-quarter operating profit, the Japanese giant saw its shares slide more than 5% on Wednesday, before closing down more than 4% – their biggest one-day fall in two months.

The Tokyo benchmark was up 0.3%. Toyota had fared well during the earlier months of a global semiconductor shortage, thanks to its larger stockpile of chips, but it has now joined rivals in slashing production thanks to the prolonged crunch, as well as China’s fresh Covid-19 restrictions. 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 12^th, 2022.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.