Toyota , the world’s largest automaker, announced its fourth straight North American quarterly loss on Tuesday. Although the April to June period marked the fourth straight quarter of red ink for the automaker, Toyota managed to significantly decrease its losses and even improved its full-year outlook.
For the April-June period – Toyota’s fiscal first quarter – the Japanese automaker trimmed its North American losses to just $38.7 million. That compares favorably with the $1.85 billion loss Toyota posted in the previous quarter, but still a far cry from the $72.3 million profit posted in the first quarter of 2008.
A large part of Toyota ’s slowed losses can be attributed to the company’s newfound focus on cost-cutting and inventory control. Toyota has reduced its production by more than 38 percent, resulting in a 47-day inventory supply – the third lowest in the U.S.
However, decreasing sales still remain a problem for Toyota. The automaker’s yearly U.S. sales are down 34.2 percent to date, with the first quarter seeing a dramatic 46.9 percent sales drop off. But Toyota remains optimistic that the market is beginning to turn as it posted a sales decline of just 11.4 percent last month.
“Right now, the market environment seems to be improving,” Toyota Senior Managing Director Takahiko Ijichi told Automotive News.
Because of that perceived market improvement, Toyota also improved its yearly forecast. The Japanese automaker now expects a full-year loss of $7.85 billion – compared to a previous estimate of $8.9 billion – and increased its sales target by 100,000 units to 6.6 million vehicles.
