Japanese carmakers with growth ahead

Article Excerpt

Toyota and Honda are facing challenges on two main fronts: both are seeing falling car sales, and both are dealing with the high Japanese yen, which has hurt the value of their North American and European sales. However, both stand to gain from the bankruptcies of General Motors and Chrysler. They are also leaders in hybrid and other fuel-saving technologies. These factors should spur their long-term growth. TOYOTA MOTOR CO. ADRs $76 (New York symbol TM; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; ADRs outstanding: 1.6 billion; Market cap: $121.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; WSSF Rating: Above Average) is the world’s largest carmaker. Japan accounts for 47% of its revenue, followed by North America (24%), Europe (12%) and Asia (10%). In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2009, Toyota sold 7.6 million vehicles, down 15% from 8.9 million in the prior year. As a result of the drop, Toyota lost $4.3 billion, or $2.55 per ADR, in fiscal 2009. (Each American Depositary…