Toyota Motor Corp. lost 765.8 billion yen ($7.7 billion) in the January-March quarter _ a bigger loss than General Motors reported _ wrapping up its worst fiscal year since the Japanese automaker was founded in 1937, according to AP. Toyota also warned that because of the global auto slump its net loss would deepen in the year through March 2010 to 550 billion yen from 436.94 billion yen last fiscal year. President Katsuaki Watanabe said the devastating results were caused by «the significant deterioration in vehicle sales particularly in the U.S. and Europe,» the strong yen and the rising cost of raw materials. It was Toyota's first annual net loss since 1950. The quarterly loss _ down from a profit of 316.8 billion yen a year ago _ was bigger than the full-year loss because it had some positive quarters earlier in the fiscal year. Throughout much of last year, Toyota's sales were booming, thanks to its reputation for quality and good mileage, and the popularity of its Camry sedan and Prius hybrid. It even overtook General Motors Corp. last year to become the world's biggest automaker by annual sales. But Toyota's business has been hit hard by the U.S. financial crisis and credit crunch, which sent ripple effects around the world, causing people to hold off on buying new cars. The red ink for the full year was worse than Toyota's own forecast for a 350 billion yen net loss, and a stunning reversal from the record profit of 1.72 trillion yen it chalked up the previous fiscal year. Sales for the fiscal year sank 21.9 percent to 20.529 trillion yen. In the year ahead, Toyota sees sales sliding another 19.6 percent to 16.5 trillion yen. Toyota's quarterly loss even eclipsed GM's $6 billion in red ink for the same quarter _ although the Japanese manufacturer is on far stronger capital footing than GM because of its historical profits.
