Toyota Motor Corp.'s profits surged 53 per cent in the just ended fiscal year as Japan's biggest automaker boosted sales in the United States while dominating the market at home in Japan.

Toyota's group profits totalled 944.6 billion yen (US$8.1 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, up from 615.8 billion a year ago, the company said Thursday. Sales edged up 6 percent on year to 16.05 trillion yen (US$138 billion) from 15.1 trillion yen.