Nissan Motor Cuts Sales, Profit Forecasts After Weak Quarter — Update

By Kosaku Narioka

Nissan Motor lowered its annual vehicle-sales and profit forecasts after reporting a sharp drop in first-quarter net profit.

The Japanese carmaker said Thursday that net profit dropped 73% from a year earlier to 28.56 billion yen, the equivalent of $185.6 million, for the three months ended June. That missed the estimate of Y98.87 billion in a poll of analysts by data provider Quick.

First-quarter revenue increased 2.8% to Y2.998 trillion.

Nissan said higher sales and marketing expenses weighed on the bottom line.

For the year ending March 2025, it forecast net profit to drop 30% to Y300.00 billion, compared with its previous view of an 11% decline. Nissan now expects global sales to rise 6.0% to 3.65 million units, down from its earlier forecast of 3.7 million units.

The automaker projected that sales in China would drop 3.0% to 770,000 units this fiscal year, compared with a previous forecast of a 0.8% increase. The lowered guidance followed a 24% decline in Chinese sales the previous year due to intense competition and consumers' shift away from conventional gas-powered vehicles.

The carmaker has been reshaping its global strategy following a restructuring of its alliance with Renault and Mitsubishi Motors last year.

Nissan and Honda Motor said in March that they would study ways to collaborate on electric vehicles, their core parts, and software.

Write to Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 25, 2024 02:32 ET (06:32 GMT)

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