Toyota aims for consistent return on equity, finance executive says

Toyota Motor is increasingly focusing on return on equity as a performance measure, talking internally about raising ROE to 20% as one guideline, a senior finance executive at the Japanese automaker said during an interview on Monday. While cautioning that ROE is not a perfect measure, the executive emphasised consistency over time-bound targets, adding that Toyota was not looking to formally commit to achieving a specific level by a certain date. "What's important isn't just reaching a certain percentage by a specific time, but maintaining it consistently," said Masahiro Yamamoto, chief officer of Toyota's Accounting Group.