Toyota roars back into the black

Tokyo - Japanese car giant Toyota on Tuesday reported an annual profit of $2.2bn (¥209.4bn) in the fiscal year ended March, marking a turnaround from a loss of $4.4bn last year.

The car maker returned to the black despite pulling nearly 10 million vehicles worldwide as it faces a host of lawsuits over issues of "unintended acceleration" that have been blamed for 58 deaths in the United States.

While global sales were down 7.7% in the year, the automaker said it expects net profit to rise 48% to $3.3bn in the year to March 2011.

Toyota last year sank into the red for the first time ever, as car sales collapsed due to the global downturn.

 - AFP