NAGOYA, Japan (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp is set to slash its annual outlook on Monday to a consolidated operating loss of 150 billion yen ($1.67 billion) -- its first such loss ever, the Nikkei business daily reported in its evening edition.
The profit warning would be the second in less than seven weeks, as Toyota suffers from a relentless global slide in car sales and a crippling rise in the yen.
A revision in some form at the world's biggest automaker had been flagged by some Japanese media last week, after domestic rival Honda Motor Co also took the rare step of altering its guidance outside the usual quarterly reporting season.
Automakers around the world are facing their toughest business environment in recent memory, caught in a sudden reversal of demand as the U.S. financial crisis spread globally, squeezing credit and consumer sentiment.
Toyota, one of the fastest-growing major automakers until last year, has been particularly vulnerable after it rushed to add production capacity that quickly became redundant.
Toyota has idled factories, slowed assembly lines and delayed manufacturing projects, such as the start of a new Mississippi plant under construction to build the Prius hybrid model.
In early November, Toyota had cut its group operating profit forecast by 1 trillion yen to 600 billion yen for the year to March 31, after posting a first-half profit of 582 billion yen. It made a profit of 2.27 trillion yen last year.
Analyst forecasts on Reuters Estimates ranged from a loss of 150 billion yen at the low end, to a profit of 800 billion yen for figures not updated since conditions deteriorated in the past month.
Toyota is due to hold its annual year-end news conference attended by its top executives at 3:30 p.m. (0630 GMT).
Honda made a similar move last week, cutting its annual profit forecast by 67 percent, and outlined a list of counter-measures such as putting off non-urgent investments to prop up its profitability.
In the United States, automakers are in even bigger trouble, with President George W. Bush throwing General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC a lifeline of up to $17.4 billion to stave off bankruptcy.
($1=90.02 Yen) (Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)