Japan’s seemingly infallible Toyota Motor Corporation is expected to report it first-ever yearly operating loss, according to media reports released early Friday. For the fiscal year between March 2008 and March 2009, the automaker will likely post a small loss, caused by slumping sales in the latter half of the year.
The news comes from Japan’s Tokyo Shimbun newspaper, which says the automaker will hold a news conference on Monday to downgrade its financial outlook. In November, Toyota revised its profit forecast to to 550 billion yen in the current year, down from the 1.25 trillion yen projected previously. If these reports are accurate, Toyota will likely use the press conference to slash its outlook further, possibly into negative territory.
Perhaps most alarming fact is that Toyota reported a profit of 582.0 billion yen for the first half of 2008. That means the company would have to lose more than that amount in the second half of 2008 to result in a full-year loss. That could be particularly bad news for 2009′s outlook.
The news is further evidence that even the world’s strongest automakers are not immune to the potential damage of the global financial crisis. On Wednesday, Honda downgraded its projected operating profits for the second half of 2008 from 180 billion yen to 550 billion yen. The company also said it was forced to cancel its NSX program, and shelve the launch of Acura in Japan.
