The profit of Japanese car maker Toyota Motor Corporation reportedly rose 13 percent in the second quarter, as it announced a share buyback, as a weaker yen added to earnings momentum ahead of an overhaul of its product lineup starting with the new Prius hybrid.
The net income in the three months through September climbed to 611.7 billion yen ($5 billion), in line with the 611.1 billion yen average of nine analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Toyota maintained its full-year profit forecast at a record 2.25 trillion yen. The company will buy back up to 0.72 percent of shares for as much as 150 billion yen, according to a statement.
“The Prius can move the needle for Toyota,” Steve Man, an auto-industry analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence in Hong Kong, said before the earnings announcement. “Everybody’s bringing hybrids, electric vehicles or a combination of those, so they need to be at the forefront.”
