Toyota: Interest payment rises help sales accelerate towards £1bn at European arm
Sales at the European arm of Toyota have accelerated by almost 50 per cent to almost £1bn during its latest financial year, it has been revealed.
The car making giant, which also sells Lexus cars, has posted a total revenue of £941.7m for the 12 months to March 31, 2024, according to newly-filed documents with Companies House.
The total compares to a revenue of £573m it posted for the prior year.
Toyota’s revenue was boosted by its income from interest payments surging from £446.7m to £706.2m while earnings from fees and commissions rose from £47.3m to £60.7m.
The car maker also received £174.7m from other operating income, up from £78.8m.
However the accounts also show that Toyota’s pre-tax profit was slashed from £258.1m to £148.8m over the same period.
The company said that was because market interest rates fell during the year as “expectations of future rate cuts prevailed” as well as the maturity of old hedges at more favourable rates.
Toyota’s European arm, which is based in Surrey, also operates subsidiaries in Italy, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Finland, Kazakhstan, Hungary, Denmark, Ireland, The Netherlands and an associate in South Africa.
The company’s directors have recommended a final dividend payment of £78.6m to its Japan-based parent group, down from £85.6m from last year.
Toyota ‘transforming into mobility company’
A statement signed off by the board said: “Toyota as a brand is well positioned within the automotive sector with a continually evolving and renewing range of vehicles.
“This range covers all the major sectors with a bias towards small, economic and environmentally friendly vehicles.
“The group is in a strong financial position, remains liquid and well funded and expects to remain profitable.
“The group is confident that its business model will continue to deliver growth and profitability.
“This view is supported by the internal management budget and four-year plan.
“In the longer term, as the industry faces profound transformation change, Toyota is transforming from an ‘automotive company’ into a ‘mobility company’ and our global mission is ‘mobility for all’.
“The group is aligned to this mission and is exploring opportunities and transformation strategies as we strive towards our goal of raising the future mobility society.”
Toyota’s car sales rise by almost 10 per cent
The company said that the supply of new Toyota and Lexus vehicles during the first half of its financial year were “hampered” by the same issues that it faced in the previous 12 months.
The shortages were experienced across the automotive industry and were caused by a lack of parts, the scarcity of raw materials, bad weather impacting factories and the war in Ukraine – where some parts are made.
Toyota said that conditions had improved by the fourth quarter and, together with “targeted countermeasures”, had resulted in a “minimisation” of supply issues.
Toyota’s European arm sold 483,000 vehicles in the year, up 40,000, while finance sales of new and used cars rose by 10,000 to 321,000.
During the year the average number of people employed by the company increased from 600 to 738.
Record profit for Toyota’s parent company
In May, Toyota’s parent company revealed it had achieved a record annual net profit of more than 4.94 trillion yen (£24.4bn), doubling from the year before.
For the year ending March 31, 2024, the group’s revenue also surged by 21.4 per cent to another record, 45.1 trillion yen (£222.8bn).