Toyota Profits Fall for First Time in Five Years

Toyota has suffered first profit fall for the first time in half a decade.

The Japanese auto maker said it sold more cars in the year to March 2017 than in the previous 12 months but that higher costs and currency fluctuations hit results.

The profit of 1.83 trillion yen ($16.1 billion) was down 21% from 2016-2017.

Toyota has warned 2016 profits will be even lower, due to the strength of the Japanese currency.

The company’s prediction is based on a forecast that the yen will average around 105 to the US dollar in the year through to March 2018, compared with 108 yen in the last financial year.

Toyota, which has lost its top-selling carmaker status to Volkswagen, sold 10.25 million cars over the year, up from 10.19 million units a year earlier.

However, income from those sales was slightly down at 27.6 trillion yen.

Toyota has been struggling in the US, its biggest market. Sales fell in North America as the company battled to meet demand for bigger cars such as SUV’s, which have become more affordable to drive thanks to lower petrol prices.

Earlier this year Toyota said it would invest $10 billion in the US over the next five years.