Toyota Profit up 35% on U.S. Sales, Yen

Toyota Motor Corp., Japan’s largest auto maker, reported a powerful jump in profit for its first quarter, helped by a robust performance in the U.S. and a soft yen.

Reporting quarterly earnings for the first time, the auto giant said consolidated operating profit for April-June climbed 35.4% from a year earlier to $3.26 billion.

The result was well ahead of analysts’ estimates, although a lack of historical data had made forecasting difficult.

Pushing up Toyota’s profit were strong U.S. sales of vehicles such as the Camry and the Highlander sport utility vehicle as well as a weaker yen in the period, which inflates the value of income earned abroad and makes exports more profitable.