Breaking: Toyota's Profit Nearly Doubles to $5 Billion – Company Ready For Rough Road Ahead – Might Pack Up And Leave Japan If Yen Gets Stronger

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

In a packed conference room in downtown Tokyo, Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda announced this afternoon that Toyota finished the fiscal year to March 31, 2011 with a group net profit of 408.1 billion yen ($5 billion), up 95 percent on the year. This despite an ever increasing yen that is driving the company – and a lot of the Japanese industry – “to the limit” as CFO Satoshi Ozawa (above) warned. Sitting next to Toyoda, Ozawa said that he might have to recommend to his CEO to move production elsewhere unless a level playing field is created.

Ozawa put the impact of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami at 110 billion yen ($1.36 billion). However, the fiscal year had ended two weeks after the catastrophe. Financially, the worst is yet to come. Toyota appears to be in excellent financial and operational shape to weather a few quarters until production is back on line – which will happen earlier than expected.

More as I have worked through my notes. There will be some interesting morsels.


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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  • Obbop Obbop on May 11, 2011

    The ruling class masters, the deserving ones, may they garner TOTAL CONTROL and as required by Social Darwinism place us masses of mere commoners below their near-gawd-like feet. Even those of you convulsing with delight at thine relatively high position upon the socio-economic hierarchy... Is your lofty position really THAT secure? Would an effective search be unable to find, let's say, perhaps 300,000 others located across the planet with your abilities/skills/knowledge/ etc? What if those 300,000 placed a bid to take your job? Oh, Daddy owns the company? Oh... he doesn't. And those paying your wage have a neutral view of you? Loyalty for past work well-done not present? Parameters, subjective rationales are often involved; too many to factor in here and the present non-algorithm requires a general what-if scenario. Basically; nobody is irreplaceable and that brilliant younger lad in the Mubai slum will gladly work near-endlessly and near-tirelessly for 1/100th your pay and benefits? Not required!!!! There's 299,000 others clamoring for the job. The many nose-in-the-air lads and lasses may receive their comeuppance some day. And a horde of working-poor will chortle, and I would not vie with them for dumpster contents. That is one fight you socio-economic higher-ups will likely lose.

    • Wsn Wsn on May 11, 2011

      --"What if those 300,000 placed a bid to take your job?" Then place a bid on a better job. --"Loyalty for past work well-done not present?" Write your expectations in your contract.

  • Bridge2farr Bridge2farr on May 11, 2011

    "TOKYO (AP) - Toyota's quarterly profit crumpled more than 75 percent after the March earthquake and tsunami wiped out parts suppliers in northeastern Japan, severely disrupting car production." "Toyota Motor Corp. reported Wednesday that January-March profit slid to 25.4 billion yen ($314 million) from 112.2 billion yen a year earlier. For the fiscal year ended March 2011, Toyota's earnings doubled, showing that the Japanese automaker had been on the way to recovery from its recall crisis when the magnitude-9.0 earthquake struck on March 11. Then what is this from the AP?

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    • Bertel Schmitt Bertel Schmitt on May 11, 2011

      Those who complain about bias and axes to grind may want to be on a lookout for this kind of selective reporting. The March 11 earthquake and tsunami affected exactly two weeks of a quarter that has 12. If these two weeks cost you $1.36 billion - as stated in the numbers presented, then no wonder that this quarter took, well, a hit.

  • Glenn Mercer Glenn Mercer on May 11, 2011

    I agree with those commentators arguing that the failure of American OEMs to penetrate Japan is not due to Japanese governmental opposition. It might be we make the wrong products for Japan, it might be nationalistic bias on a personal level, it might be lack of real effort on the OEMs' part, it might be sunspots for all I know, but I do not see institutional/governmental/regulatory barriers in Japan against foreign cars. Look at these analogies: European OEMs as a group have about a 5% share in Japan, and about a 5% share in the USA (the data experts at TTAC will correct my numbers I hope). So whatever barriers there are against European sales in both countries might be assumed to be similar... implying, if one thinks the USA has no regulatory barriers against the Europeans, neither does Japan. Also, I note that American exports to Europe have done atrociously poorly (yes, I know, Ford and GM have European divisions dedicated to building cars for local consumption, so the export drive from the USA could hardly be considered forceful), but I rarely hear complaints about the Europeans "closing the market" to the Americans. For really impressive regulatory barriers against imports from abroad, look at KOREA's handcuffs on Japanese cars (I know, many of those rules are now dissolved). I just don't see the argument for Japanese government-imposed barriers to American exports. I could be wrong, it has happened once or twice in the past (grin)...

    • Bertel Schmitt Bertel Schmitt on May 11, 2011

      Please name the barriers to entry. - The tariff for cars is zero. ZERO. - The cars must comply with Japanese regulations, just like a car imported to the U.S. has to comply with U.S. regulations. - However, Japan has exemptions for low volume imports. Europe has similar regs. The U.S. does not. Failure? Doesn't exist. It must be discrimination.

  • Glenn Mercer Glenn Mercer on May 11, 2011

    And (echoing Mr. Schmitt's last comments): the US tariff on imported cars I think is still 2.5% (in Japan zero), and on pickup trucks 25%, yes? What is a 25% tariff on imported pickup trucks in the USA if not a protectionist barrier, on the part of the USA? I agree wholly with Mr. Schmitt.

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