Toyota Profit Soars on Cheap Yen and Strong Car Sales

Toyota, Japan's largest automaker, reported a nearly doubling of profit in its fiscal first quarter due to favorable exchange rates and solid car sales. The company's net profit rose to 1.48 trillion yen ($9.4 billion) in the April-June period, up from 841 billion yen in the same quarter last year.

The cheap yen, which is currently trading at around 158 yen per dollar, boosts the value of overseas earnings for Japan's exporters like Toyota. The favorable currency effect added 345 billion yen ($2.2 billion) to the company's quarterly operating profit.

Toyota also reported a 10% year-on-year increase in quarterly sales to 13.5 trillion yen ($85 billion). The automaker expects to sell more vehicles for the full fiscal year, with Chief Officer Takanori Azuma predicting a total of 9.7 million units.