The Wall Street Journal-20080206-Toyota-s Emerging-Market Push Pays Off- Net Profit Rises 7-5- As China- Russia Offset North America Decline

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Toyota's Emerging-Market Push Pays Off; Net Profit Rises 7.5% As China, Russia Offset North America Decline

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TOKYO -- Toyota Motor Corp. said net profit rose 7.5% in the October-December quarter, thanks to strong sales in China, Russia and other emerging markets, but saw quarterly North American sales drop for the first time in more than four years amid growing fears of a U.S. slowdown.

Toyota sold 756,000 vehicles in North America during the period, a decline of 1% from a year earlier. The car maker cut its full-year sales forecast for North America by 20,000 vehicles to 2.97 million.

Sales of the hybrid Prius remain strong, although those of large sport-utility vehicles such as the 4Runner are down.

The results for Toyota, which trailed General Motors Corp. by a narrow margin last year as the world's largest auto maker by vehicle sales, come as Japanese makers are hit by a slowdown in the U.S. amid higher oil prices and rising concerns of a recession. Last week, Toyota said sales in the U.S. in January fell 2.3% to 171,849, from a year earlier. Honda Motor Co.'s U.S. sales fell 2.3% in January, while Nissan Motor Co.'s U.S. sales dropped 7.3%.

Japanese car makers have been able to offset softness in the U.S. market with strong results in fast-growing emerging markets. Toyota's aggressive push into markets such as China and Russia, for example, lessened its dependence in North America. In the first three quarters of this fiscal year, North American sales accounted for 44% of Toyota's operating income outside Japan, compared with 57% a year earlier.

Still, North America remains a major source of profit for the auto makers, and investors remain concerned about the impact of the U.S. subprime crisis and the stronger yen, which diminishes the value of overseas earnings.

Share prices in Toyota, Honda and Nissan have fallen sharply this year as investors take a wait-and-see approach until they can understand the impact of the economic uncertainties, analysts say.

"People don't know what's going on. Nobody has a crystal ball. Until that uncertainty is gone, I don't expect the stocks to perform well, even blue chip stocks like Honda or Toyota," said Tatsuo Yoshida, a senior analyst for UBS Securities Japan Ltd.

Takeshi Suzuki, a Toyota senior managing director, remains optimistic about the long-term prospects of the U.S. economy. "While there is an increase in sales in the developing countries, that doesn't mean the strength of the U.S. market has weakened," he said. "Over the long term, we believe the American economy will grow. That is why we are expanding our capacity."

Toyota's third-quarter net profit was 458.6 billion yen ($4.3 billion). Operating profit increased 4.7% to 601.5 billion yen. Sales in Asia rose 37,000 to 241,000 vehicles, lifted by strong sales in China and increased production capacity in Thailand and Indonesia.

In Central and South America, Africa, and Oceania, it sold 435,000 vehicles, up 95,000 from the previous year. In Europe, sales increased 2,000 units to 308,000 vehicles. In Japan, new-car sales remained flat at 541,000 vehicles for the quarter.