Toyota Profit Falls as Sales Rise 5.6%

Toyota Motor Corp.’s profit fell 9.7% in its fiscal first quarter from a year earlier, mostly on unfavorable currency swings that offset stronger global sales.

Japan’s biggest automaker said it earned $1.8 billion for the April through June period. Sales rose 5.6% to $34 billion.

The drop in profit was mostly due to exchange rate fluctuations and temporary production stops to prepare for making new models at North American plants. Toyota said it was well on the way to strong results for the rest of the year.

Toyota sold 1.59 million vehicles worldwide for the quarter, up 121,000 vehicles, or 8.2%, from a year earlier.