Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM) shares tanked more than 8.5% on Thursday as the woes from a growing safety scandal overshadowed a strong quarterly performance.
The Japanese car giant reported a 1.7% increase in its profit for the April-June quarter, reaching 1.33 trillion yen (US$8.9 billion).
This marks a record profit for the period, up from 1.31 trillion yen a year earlier.
Nevertheless, investors appear to be more focused on the group’s suspension of shipments after Japanese authorities found seven of its vehicles weren’t properly certified.
Toyota facilities have been under investigation by the transport division of the Japanese government since the start of summer when eight vehicles improperly passed certification testing.
Shares as a result are down close to 20% in the last two months.
Despite this, the company's quarterly sales rose by 12% to 11.8 trillion yen (US$79 billion).
Meanwhile, Toyota attributed its profit boost to a weak yen and global vehicle sales growth, even though the scandal halted production in Japan for several months.
Toyota expects to sell 9.5 million vehicles globally for the fiscal year, with group companies like Daihatsu Motor Co. and Hino Motors contributing to nearly 11 million in total sales.