Toyota said Friday its annual profit accelerated 19 percent to a record $18.1 billion as the world’s biggest automaker capitalized on a weak yen and strong demand in the North American market, despite being sideswiped by a series of recalls. According to France 24, the maker of the Yaris and Prius hybrid beat its earlier forecasts with the 2.17 trillion yen net profit in the fiscal year to March, driving past earnings of 1.82 trillion yen a year ago. Revenues rose six percent to 27.23 trillion yen, while the Japanese giant predicted it would book an even bigger 2.25 trillion yen net profit in the current fiscal year. The car company hasn’t released its sales figures for Iran, however with the depreciating dollar price over the past years, imports of Toyota have risen gradually over the 9 month period (ended January 2015), with the company importing 8,271 vehicles, coming only second to Korea’s Hyundai.
