Toyota seen losing 30b yen from Japan earthquake stoppages

[TOKYO] Toyota Motor Corp may see its operating profit reduced by about 30 billion yen (S$377 million) for the quarter ending in June after a series of earthquakes struck southwestern Japan and disrupted parts supplies.

Production shifts that stopped late last week at Toyota's Kyushu factories will extend to other assembly lines in stages throughout this week, Japan's largest automaker said in a statement.

Toyota supplier Aisin Seiki Co said two plants that make engine and body parts, semiconductors and other components have been halted since April 14, when an initial magnitude 6.4-level tremblor hit Kumamoto prefecture on the island of Kyushu.

The loss of production may reach 56,000 vehicles for Toyota and Lexus, and 7,500 units for minicar maker Daihatsu, Koichi Sugimoto, a Tokyo-based analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley wrote in a report Monday.

Toyota fell as much as 6.8 per cent in early trading and was down 5.8 per cent as of 9:19 am in Tokyo. The shares have declined 28 per cent this year.

In February, Toyota shut all Japan assembly plants for one week after an explosion and fire halted a plant at affiliate Aichi Steel Corp that supplied engine, transmission and chassis components.

Honda suspended production at the motorcycle plant in Kumamoto since the Thursday quake and is extending the halt to April 22, spokesman Ben Nakamura said.

Nissan spokesman Dion Corbett said its plants in Kyushu island will resume production Monday after sustaining minor damage.

BLOOMBERG