Toyota to revise further downward FY 2008 group operating loss+

NAGOYA, Jan. 30 Kyodo - Toyota Motor Corp. is expected to revise its fiscal 2008 group operating loss projection further downward by a sharp margin due to slumping sales amid the deepening global economic slowdown, sources familiar with the matter said Friday.

Toyota's projection of a group operating loss for the year to March could
balloon to around 400 billion yen from a 150 billion yen loss it projected a
month ago, the sources said.
It would be the third downward revision to its fiscal 2008 earnings forecasts
for Toyota.
In December, Toyota projected 50 billion yen in group net profit for fiscal
2008. But Toyota's net balance may also fall into the red, marking the first
annual net loss for the automaker since it began releasing comparable earnings
results for the fiscal year which ended November 1963, the sources said.
Toyota is expected to announce the earnings forecast changes on Feb. 6, when it
reveals its April-December earnings.
The announcement will follow Toyota's earnings forecast cuts in November and
December.
Toyota has been suffering from rapidly weakening demand for vehicles worldwide,
with its sales in the United States in December plunging 37 percent from a year
earlier and those in Europe down 27 percent.
''We cannot make even sales projection for 2009 before seeing signs that sales
decline has hit bottom,'' an official of the automaker said.
Behind the gloomier earnings forecasts include sluggish performance at its
affiliated parts makers, whose earnings settle before Toyota's. Parts makers'
earnings are also deteriorating due to the industry-wide production cuts.
Toyota plans to more than halve its production volume per day from February to
April compared with a year earlier to reduce inventory.
If sales continue to decline, the firm may be forced to slash output further,
the sources said.
==Kyodo
2009-01-30 22:56:49