Toyota raises forecast amid weaker yen as exports gain

Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest automaker, raised its full-year profit forecast by 13% as the weaker yen helped earnings from Prius and Lexus vehicles which are exported from Japan.

Net income in the fiscal first half ended September 30 could surge 74% to 955.3 billion yen ($9.7 billion), according to analyst estimates. For the quarter, profit probably jumped to 444.7 billion yen, more than the earnings at General Motors Co. and Volkswagen AG. Toyotas prediction of net income for the quarter ending March 31 next year will probably rise to 1.67 trillion yen ($16.9 billion) the car-maker stated today.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s financial policies, which have helped the yen weaken against every major currency in the past year, are giving Japanese exporters a boost.

“Toyota is the company that’s benefited most from Abenomics because of the currency,” said Takaki Nakanishi, founder of industry research firm Nakanishi Research Institute and the top ranked auto analyst by Institutional Investor magazine. “The prime minister will probably say this is a win for Abenomics, that his direction is right and that Toyota’s earnings are good proof.” he said, cited by Bloomberg.

In North America, Toyota will probably show 96 billion yen in operating profit last quarter, an increase of 48%, according to analysts. In the U.S., deliveries rose 12% in the period as the weaker yen gave Toyota opportunity to offer higher incentives for its best-selling Camry model. The company outsold Ford Motor Co. for the first time in 15 quarters.

Operating profit in Europe probably added 9.8% to 9.5 billion yen, the analysts’ estimates show, amid mounting signs that the region is recovering from its record six-quarter recession. Toyota’s operating profit in Japan, including income from exports, probably more than doubled to 363.3 billion yen the last quarter as the weaker yen boosted the value of overseas sales.

Toyota sales in China, the world’s largest auto market, rose at the fastest pace in five quarters as it rebounded from last year, amid protests which were triggered in opposition to Japan’s purchase of a group of islands claimed by both countries.

Additionally the automaker is getting a short-term boost in Japan as consumers rush to buy cars before an increase in the consumption tax in April, according to Koji Endo, an auto analyst at Advanced Research Japan in Tokyo.

Toyota’s shares surged 58% year-to-date, outperforming Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average has gained 37% in 2013.