Toyota profit up 50 percent

TOKYO: Toyota Motor Corp has announced a 50 percent increase in net profit for the financial year ended March 31.

The company reported an after-tax profit of US$3.1 billion on net sales valued at US$98.7 billion.

Worldwide vehicle sales were up 9.9 percent to 4.56 million cars with the majority of the growth coming from export markets.

Overseas sales were up 12.1 percent to 2.343 million cars while the Japanese domestic sales rose only 7.7 percent to 2.216 million vehicles.