Toyota’s earnings hit record at $4.13B

Toyota Motor Corp. reported a record profit of $4.13 billion for the first quarter of the Japanese fiscal year, a 32 percent surge from year-earlier levels in spite of weakening demand for vehicles in its two biggest markets — the United States and Japan.

The Japanese automaker still managed to achieve a 7 percent rise in vehicle sales in the April-June quarter, helped by a solid reputation for making reliable and fuel-efficient cars and trucks.

It also benefited from a slide in the yen against other major currencies during the quarter that boosted the value of its export earnings and pared some of its components costs.

"We posted substantial increases in both revenues and profits, our highest ever quarterly results," Takeshi Suzuki, Toyota senior managing director, said in a statement.

After years of steady gains, Toyota is closing in on General Motors Corp., the No. 1 automaker for more than 70 years. Toyota outsold GM in the first six months of the calendar year, reporting sales of 4.72 million vehicles, compared with 4.67 million for the U.S. automaker. But GM sold slightly more vehicles in the three months to June 30.