Toyota Motor Corp. said it will buy back stock for the first time in five years as its cash pile swells and profit climbs.
It will repurchase as many as 60 million shares, equivalent to a 1.9 percent stake, for ¥360 billion, according to a statement Wednesday. The company will retire about half of the shares by June. Toyota rose 1.96 percent to ¥5,731 on Thursday in Tokyo trading, while the Topix rose 0.41 percent.
The carmaker's growing cash pile fueled calls from the likes of Jefferies Group analyst Takaki Nakanishi, who Institutional Investor magazine ranks as the top Japanese auto analyst, for the company to return money to shareholders or invest in new factories. Toyota has forecast a record ¥1.9 trillion profit for the year ending next Monday.