Toyota triples year loss forecast

The world's biggest carmaker, Toyota, has widened its predicted loss for 2008 after demand for its cars slumped.

• In December, Toyota predicted it would make a full year operating loss of 150bn yen ($1.65bn; £1.13bn).
• The Japanese car giant has now tripled that figure and expects to make a 450bn yen operating loss, the first annual loss at the firm in 70 years.
• Although it has not suffered as badly as its US rivals, Toyota has still been hit by falling demand in the downturn.
• The strengthening yen has also hit its profitability, by depreciating its overseas earnings.
• In expanding its loss prediction for the year, Toyota also said it made a loss of 164.7bn yen in the three months from October to December.
• Production cut
• Toyota has also lowered its forecast for vehicle sales for the whole group for the 2008/09 financial year to 7.32 million from 7.54 million.
• It had sold 8.913 million vehicles in the year to the end of March 2008.
• In December, Toyota boss Katsuaki Watanabe said the current downturn was of a size that comes only: “once in a hundred years”.
• Toyota is cutting work to a single shift on 17 production lines lines out of its 75 around the world at different times in January and February.
• It is also closing all Japanese factories for a total of 14 days between January and March.