TOKYO, Aug 1 Reuters Toyota nearly doubled its operating profit in the first quarter, the Japanese automaker said on Tuesday, helped by increased sales and production volumes as well as the tailwind from the weaker yen.

Sales volumes across all regions increased compared to the same period a year earlier due to productivity improvement efforts made together with suppliers, the company said in its earnings announcement.

The world39;s topselling automaker said operating profit for the three months through June totalled 1.12 trillion yen 7.85 billion, an increase of 94 from a year earlier, beating the average 945.22 billion yen profit estimate in a poll of 10 analysts by Refinitiv.

Last year39;s operating profit was 578.66 billion yen in the first quarter.

Toyota maintained its forecast for a 3.0 trillion yen profit for the current year, as the conditions it faced had not changed greatly from three months earlier.

That forecast compared to a 3.6 trillion yen average forecast from 23 analysts. Toyota said it may consider a revision around the time of its halfyear results.

Tuesday39;s earnings are the Japanese auto giant39;s first since it laid out an ambitious plan to better compete in the global market for batterypowered vehicles, as well as detailed its hydrogen strategy.

If it does not realise its plan, Toyota risks missing out on a rapid shift to electric vehicles in especially China, where the rise of local competitors and price cuts by Tesla and others are…