Nissan net loss at 83.2 billion yen in third quarter FY08
Total net loss of 265 billon yen forecast for FY08
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., today announced financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2008, ending March 31, 2009, as well as for the first nine months. In the third quarter, the consolidated net loss after tax came to 83.2 billion yen (US $0.81 billion, euro 0.55 billion), compared to net income of 132.2 billion yen (US $1.28 billion, euro 0.87 billion) from the same period a year ago. The loss is driven by the severe downturn in the global economy in the second half of calendar year 2008 and, in particular, the negative impact of the strong yen, the sharp decline in consumer confidence in all major markets and product mix deterioration.
Net revenue was down 34.4% to 1.8165 trillion yen (US $17.65 billion, euro 12.02 billion). Nissan's operating loss totaled 99.2 billion yen (US $0.96 billion, euro 0.66 billion). Ordinary loss amounted to 112.7 billion yen (US $1.1 billion, euro 0.75 billion).
"In every planning scenario we built, our worst assumptions on the state of the global economy have been met or exceeded, with the continuing grip on credit and declining consumer confidence being the most damaging factors," said Nissan President and CEO Carlos Ghosn. "Looking forward, our priority remains on protecting our free cash flow and taking swift, adequate and impactful actions to improve our business performance."
Nissan sold a total of 731,000 vehicles worldwide in the October-to-December 2008 period, down 18.6%.
In the April-to-December 2008 period, net income after tax totaled 43.2 billion yen (US $0.42 billion, euro 0.29 billion), down 87.5% compared with the previous year. Net revenue fell 14.7% to 6.6858 trillion yen (US $64.97 billion, euro 44.25 billion). Operating profit totaled 92.5 billion yen (US $0.9 billion, euro 0.61 billion), down 84.0%. Operating profit margin came to 1.4%. Ordinary profit amounted to 90.0 billion yen (US $0.87 billion, euro 0.6 billion), down 84.0%.
Globally, Nissan sold a total of 2,633,000 vehicles in the first nine months, down 3.0% compared with last year.
In fiscal year 2008, Nissan will launch a total of eight all-new products globally. Four new products were introduced in the third quarter: NP200 in South Africa and KIX mini-SUV, Cube and Fairlady Z in Japan.
Due to the worsening state of the global economy and associated deterioration in global auto markets, the company has further revised its forecast for the full fiscal year 2008. Nissan filed the following revised forecast for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2009, with the Tokyo Stock Exchange:
- Consolidated net revenues of 8.3 trillion yen (US $80.66 billion, euro 54.93 billion);
- Operating loss of 180 billion yen (US $1.75 billion, euro 1.19 billion);
- Ordinary loss of 190 billion yen (US $1.85 billion, euro 1.26billion); and
- Net loss of 265 billion yen (US $2.58 billion, euro 1.75 billion).
Notes: Amounts in dollars and euros are translated for the convenience of the reader at the foreign exchange rates of 102.9 yen/dollar and 151.1 yen/euro, the average rates for the first nine months of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2009.
