Nissan racks up red ink but Japanese automaker promises return to profit later this year

Tokyo, Jul 30 (AP) Japanese automaker Nissan sank into a 115.8 billion yen (USD 782 million) loss for April-June, but promised Wednesday to return to profitability later this year.
     Nissan Motor Corp. did not give a full-year net profit forecast. It recorded a 28.6 billion yen profit during the April-June quarter last year.
     Quarterly sales for the current fiscal year slipped nearly 10 per cent to 2.7 trillion yen (USD 18 billion).
     The maker of the Leaf electric car and Infiniti luxury models said the results were better than expected.
     But it faces “headwinds,” including declining sales, unfavourable exchange rates and President Donald Trump's tariffs.
     Ivan Espinosa, who took the helm at Nissan in April, replacing Makoto Uchida, said the company's recovery plan remained urgent. Uchida stepped down to take responsibility for the dismal fiscal results.
     Espinosa noted the initial steps of the company's revival plan were kicking in, including cutting costs, realigning products, reshaping a market strategy and strengthening partnerships.
     “We must now go further and faster to achieve profitability. Everyone at Nissan is united in delivering a recovery that will ensure a sustainable and profitable future,” he said.
     Nissan, based in the port city of Yokohama, has been struggling but is promising a turnaround under Espinosa, a Mexican with two decades of experience at Nissan.
     The company said some of its models, such as the N7 in China and the Magnite in Mexico, have been selling well recently.
     Nissan recently ditched talks with Japanese rival Honda Motor Co. to set up a joint holding company. They said they will continue to cooperate on technology development.
     Nissan is closing its flagship factory in Oppama, Japan, outside Tokyo, by the end of the 2027 fiscal year, moving production there to another plant in southwestern Japan.
     Nissan is also slashing 15 per cent of its global workforce, or about 20,000 employees. That includes a 9,000 headcount reduction announced late last year. (AP) SKS GRS
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)