Toyota reports higher profits but cuts sales target

Japanese carmaker Toyota has reported a rise in second-quarter profits but trimmed its annual sales target.

The world's biggest carmaker said net profit rose 14% in the July to September quarter to 611.7bn yen ($5bn; £3.2bn).

Its quarterly sales increased by 8.4% to 7.1tn yen, thanks to a weaker yen.

But despite robust sales in its biggest market of North America, Toyota cut its annual sales target because of slowing sales in Japan and emerging markets.

It now expects to sell 10 million vehicles worldwide in the year to March 2016, down 150,000 vehicles from its previous forecast.

"The auto market especially in developed economies will remain strong, but Asia may not recover as much as we are hoping to see, so we are more cautious on our emerging market forecast," said managing officer Tetsuya Otake.

The lower outlook comes despite Toyota regaining the crown of the world's largest carmaker by sales in the first nine months of this year from Germany's Volkswagen.

Toyota's second quarter operating profit rose 26% to 827.4bn yen. The carmaker has been trying to cut costs and improve productivity at its manufacturing plants as it faces a downturn in many markets.

The company recalled 6.5 million vehicles globally last month over a faulty window switch, which was the latest in a string of recalls for the auto giant.