Nissan Motor Co. said Wednesday it posted a net loss of 533.10 billion yen ($3.4 billion) for the year ended March due to restructuring costs, marking the second straight year of red ink.
The struggling Japanese automaker reported an operating profit of 58.01 billion yen for the period, down 16.9 percent from the previous year, but in line with its earlier estimate. It had earlier projected an operating loss of 60 billion yen before revising it in late April citing faster-than-expected progress in reform efforts, the weaker yen and one-time gains from U.S. emissions regulations changes.
Sales slipped 4.9 percent to 12.01 trillion yen, with U.S. car sales falling 3.4 percent to 906,000 units.
The company, which logged a 670.90 billion yen net loss a year earlier, has been pushing ahead with massive streamlining efforts to restore profitability, including the closure of seven vehicle plants in Japan and overseas and the cutting of 20,000 jobs globally by fiscal 2027.
The latest earnings report comes after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed in April last year a 27.5 percent tariff on cars from Japan, sharply raised from 2.5 percent. The rate was later negotiated down to 15 percent in July and formally implemented in September.
The company said the tariff impact on its operating profit totaled 286 billion yen, higher than the earlier estimate of 275 billion yen.
During the just-ended business year, global sales totaled 3.15 million units, down 5.8 percent from the previous year.
For the current business year through next March, the company forecasts a net profit of 20 billion yen.
Its operating profit is projected to jump 3.4-fold to 200 billion yen on sales of 13 trillion yen, up 8.3 percent.
Nissan said in April that it plans to add an autonomous driving system employing artificial intelligence to 90 percent of its future models to help revive sluggish sales, while outlining a strategy to reduce its model lineup by 20 percent and expand sales in its three core markets of Japan, the United States and China.
==Kyodo
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