Sales success in China, driving quarterly earnings higher than expected, has helped Nissan revise its annual outlook to a profit from a loss.
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Nissan saw Chinese sales up by one-fifth year-on-year in September, helped by Beijing’s tax incentives for smaller cars. It now expects to sell 3.3m vehicles globally in the year to March, raising its forecast by 7%.
Nissan, owned 44% by Renault, is forecasting an operating profit of JPY120bn (US$1.3 billion) in the year to March, instead of the JPY100bn loss it had forecast previously.
Earnings made in China are counted in Nissan’s operating profits, unlike those at Toyota and Honda which report under US accounting rules.
Nissan also revised its net loss forecast to JPY40bn from a loss of JPY170bn.
For the July-September quarter, Nissan made an operating profit of JPY83.28bn, down 25.4% from a profit of JPY111.7bn a year earlier.
“We continue to operate in an environment that is volatile and uncertain,” said Nissan President and CEO Carlos Ghosn. “Our performance in the first half of fiscal 2009 is encouraging, demonstrating that Nissan’s Recovery Plan is on track. Our outlook will remain cautious until we see evidence that economic recovery can be sustained in world markets.”
In fiscal year 2009, Nissan will launch globally eight all-new products. The second half will feature five introductions: Patrol in the Middle East; Fuga and Roox minicar in Japan; a new global compact car in Asia; and the 370Z convertible in the United States.
