Toyota reports worst annual loss

Toyota, the world's biggest carmaker, has made its worst annual loss as the global economic downturn has hit demand for its vehicles.

• The Japanese company said it made a net loss of 436.94bn yen ($4.4bn) in the year to 31 March, compared with a record profit the year before.
• Toyota said expected to make a bigger loss in the current financial year.
• Like many of its rivals, Toyota has cut production, including at its UK plants, as sales have declined.
• Toyota also blamed the loss on high raw materials prices and a strong yen, which makes its cars more expensive overseas.
• “Both revenues and profits declined severely during this period,” said Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe.
• He said the loss “was a consequence of the significant deterioration in vehicle sales, particularly in the US and Europe”.
• Toyota said it expected to make a net loss of 550bn yen ($5.5bn) in the financial year ending in March 2010.
• “It appears to take some more time before the financial markets in the US and Europe normalise and the global economy recovers,” Mr Watanabe said.
• Toyota last made a net loss in 1963, a spokeswoman said.