Toyota Motor has posted its first decline in group operating profit for the April-to-December period in two years. The suspension of production of some models following reports of rigged certification tests drove down domestic sales.

Japan's largest automaker said Wednesday that operating profit for the nine months through last December fell to 3.68 trillion yen, or roughly 24 billion dollars. That is down 13 percent from the same period a year earlier.

The decline in sales in Japan came in the wake of the company's falsification of performance test data needed for government certification. Sales also dropped in North America due to recalls of some models.

Even so, group revenue rose 4.9 percent to a record high of 35.7 trillion yen. Net profit also increased by 3.9 percent as the weaker yen pushed up the profits on overseas sales.

Toyota raised its operating profit forecast for the full year through March by 9 percent to 4.7 trillion yen, or around 30 billion dollars.

It also announced new investment plans for the United States and China. The company said its battery manufacturing plant in North Carolina will start shipments in April.

Toyota will set up a new company in Shanghai to produce Lexus electric vehicles and batteries.

It plans to start output in 2027 or later. The initial production capacity will be around 100,000 units a year.