Times are really bad when even Toyota are losing
money.
Toyota, the world's biggest car maker, has forecast its first
ever operating loss due to the slide in car sales across the
world.
The Japanese manufacturer has cut its group operating forecast to a
loss of $1.7 billion for the year to end-March.
Toyota had made a record operating profit of $25.2 billion last
year.
"This is very, very, very bad," Koichi Ogawa, chief portfolio
manager at Daiwa SB Investments, told Reuters. "There's a chance
they could fall into the red in the next business year as
well.
"This is also not just a problem for Toyota. What is good for
Toyota is good for the Japanese economy."
Honda, who pulled out of Formula One earlier, had cut its annual
profit forecast by 67 percent last month.
Toyota has insisted that it remains committed to Formula One
despite the global crisis and team president John Howett said he is
not concerned about the situation.
"Clearly I guess everybody, not only motorsport teams but in all
sports, faced with the financial turmoil at the moment, is managing
their business correctly , but I don't think we are living
hand-in-mouth or from day-to-day," Howett told BBC Radio 5
Live.
He is also confident the new cost-cutting measures agreed by the
teams will help reduce budgets significantly.
"I think it is a very pragmatic approach that will allow all teams
to reduce costs significantly, the DNA of F1 is retained and the
intention of FOTA is to continue in the early part of next year
once the initial wave of improvements have been introduced to look
at further changes," he added.
Formula One tyre supplier Bridgestone also said on Monday that it
was cutting its operating profit forecast for 2008 by 24
percent.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/72550
