Toyota's Final Numbers: Gain Or Loss?

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt
One would think that with all the recalls, Toyota would be looking at a hefty loss for fiscal 2009, which ended on March 2010. Toyota itself thought the same. Well, not hefty, but last projections saw a loss in the neighborhood of $200m. A loss is a loss, and it would have been the 3rd lost year in a row. Toyota bean counters went over the books with a fine tooth comb. And guess what they found?A likely profit of around $500m! “Cost reductions and a weaker yen staved off another year in the red,” reports The Nikkei [sub]. The full whammy of recall costs will hit this fiscal anyway, so it is doubly good that half a billion dollars were found. This way, if or when they write a loss in the current 2010 fiscal, nobody can say that Toyota “lost money for the fourth year in a row.” That would be devastating for the all-important hyo-ban (reputation) of Toyota and Toyoda. The yen, which had been frighteningly strong for most of the year, lost some of its strength just in time for the end of the fiscal year, only to get stronger again. Looks like someone helped out the hyo-ban of the whole Japanese export industry. Doesn’t change the facts much, but appearances are everything.
Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • JimothyLite JimothyLite on Apr 25, 2010

    Yes, he can smile. He's just chewing on something, a type of bird.

  • Telegraph Road Telegraph Road on Apr 25, 2010

    Despite its recent fall, Toyota's market capitalization is 50% more than that of Goldman Sachs. Former Ford CFO Alan Gilmore famously said, "Toyota has more money than God". They'll ride out this trying time just fine, as will Goldman Sachs and the Vatican. But Goldman CEO also said Goldman Sachs is doing "God's work". So maybe it's all the same.

  • David Obelcz David Obelcz on Apr 25, 2010

    I've just seen the two latest Avalon ads, the train station one and the pilot one. Holy crap, are they trying to raise Oldsmobile buyers from the dead??? Those ads have great production value but they are - AWFUL - unless you're target demographic is 80 year old World War II vets who can't find the brake pedal.

  • I_godzuki I_godzuki on Apr 26, 2010

    If Toyota makes a loss, which it now seems it won't, it would have been its second loss in a row rather than third.

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