Nissan posts net profit up 40

Japanese carmaker Nissan today (November 2nd) posted a net income up 37.4 per cent for the six months ending in September, reaching 325.6 billion yen (£1.74 billion).

Net income may rise to 535 billion yen in the 12 months through March from 457.6 billion yen a year earlier, Nissan said. That’s up from the company’s 485 billion yen forecast made in May.

The firm said it sold 2.62 million vehicles globally during the six months, marking a 1.3 per cent rise year-on-year.

Furthermore, it revised its full-year to March 2016 forecast for global car sales to 5.5 million vehicles – up by 3.4 per cent from a year earlier, thanks to an increase in demand from the US and Europe.

The American market has registered the fastest pace of sales growth in more than a decade, helped by demand for its Rogue crossovers and Altima sedans.

Nissan also benefited from the weaker yen, which has been depreciating due to the central bank’s asset-purchase programme, and hit a 13-year low in June.

Market volatility

Chief executive Carlos Ghosn said in a press release that “Nissan has delivered solid revenue growth and improved profitability in the first half of the fiscal year, driven by encouraging demand for our vehicles in North America and a rebound in western Europe, which compensated for market volatility elsewhere.”

The firm mentioned “declining market conditions” in Japan, as well as several emerging markets. But despite the economic turmoil in China, Nissan said its sales of passenger vehicles rose by 9.5 per cent for the period in the country.

“We are increasing our financial forecast for the full year as our product offensive, our continued financial discipline and the ongoing benefits of our alliance strategy is delivering better-than-expected results,” Carlos Ghosn added.

Nissan is now a world leader in electric vehicles, with cumulative global sales of 200,000 for its Leaf electric car.