Toyota profit rises
TOKYO: Toyota’s quarterly profit rose 13.5 per cent to 611.7 billion yen ($5 billion) and the automaker kept its annual earnings forecast unchanged despite trimming its expectations for vehicle sales. The company said its earnings for the July to September quarter benefited from cost cuts and a favourable exchange rate. The profit was up from 539 billion yen the previous year, but a little short of the 615 billion yen ($5.1 billion) average forecast in a FactSet survey of analysts. Toyota sold 42,000 fewer vehicles at 2.48 million vehicles in July to September compared to the same period last year, with sales falling in Europe and Asia, including Japan. But the value of its sales increased eight per cent to 7.1 trillion yen ($58.5 billion), showing the weak yen impact.