The excellent news continues to roll in for Toyota. After officially becoming the world’s top-selling automaker in 2012, the automaker’s third-quarter financial report contains mostly positive results including a net profit of 99.9 billion yen, that is about 1.08 billion dollars. Toyota cites a weakening yen and powerful U.S. sales for the strong quarter, which ended December 31, 2012; the fiscal year results in March.

The yen’s fluctuating value has long been a controversy for Japanese automakers, and an Automotive News report notes the currency has declined 14 percent since November 13, 2012. Most of the big three Japanese automakers, Toyota could benefit essentially the most from a weakening yen because it produces more vehicles in Japan than Nissan and Honda. Additionally, sales in most global markets  increased, including a 13.5 percent gain when compared with the identical period in 2011 when the automaker was still recovering from Japan’s natural disaster. Because of greater than $1 billion allotted for legal fees with regards to U.S. consumers who say their resale value dropped as a result of recalls, however, the corporate had a quarterly operating loss in North America.

Toyota also had positive leads to its home country, where it earned a profit for a fourth straight quarter, despite a 5.1-percent decline in sales. Over in Europe, Toyota isn’t proof against the region’s struggling market; the automaker’s quarterly operating profit fell, and in China, Toyota’s overall sales during 2012 dropped 4.9 percent, marking it the primary time Toyota sales have declined within the country in recent times.

Still, the third quarter report was enough reason behind Toyota to extend its annual profit forecast (ending this March) by 10 percent to $9.3 billion dollars. It also has set a goal of 9.91 million units during 2013 after achieving a record high 9.75 million vehicles sold last year.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription required), Toyota