Nissan aims to emerge from crisis with new car offensive – Bloomberg



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Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. announced on the 12th that its operating loss for the July-September period was 4.8 billion yen (153.9 billion yen for the April-June period). As the novel corona virus infection has had its worst and global auto sales are on a recovery trend, the cost reduction has paid off and the content has far exceeded the market forecast.

The average operating profit and loss forecast for the seven analysts compiled by Bloomberg prior to the financial results announcement was a deficit of 148 billion yen, which was significantly higher than this. The operating loss for the current fiscal year (ending March 2021) is expected to be 340 billion yen, which is less than the previous forecast (deficit of 470 billion yen). It is said that they will contribute to the recovery of sales and the reduction of fixed costs.

Nissan motor vehicles ahead of half-year earnings

Nissan dealership sign in Yokohama city (November 10)

Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota / Bloomberg

 

“It is important to continue the momentum and momentum that we were able to show in the second quarter,” said Makoto Uchida, president and CEO, who met at the headquarters in Yokohama. On top of that, he said it was “a company that is still in the red” and that by continuing to focus on full fixed costs, he said, “we will increase profit per vehicle and will surely lead to profitability in fiscal 2009.” Was.

According to Nissan’s announcement materials, in the July-September period, when Corona’s influence remains, the impact on finished vehicle and parts sales led to a decrease of 171.5 billion yen compared to the same period of the year. previous year, but there are also storms. The decrease in fixed costs and costs of sales, including this, boosted profits of more than 150 billion yen, leading to a reduction in losses.

Nissan Financial Results Summary

Outlook for the whole year

  • Sales: 7.94 trillion yen (previous forecast: 7.8 trillion yen, market forecast: 7.791 trillion yen)
  • Operating profit / loss: deficit of 340 billion yen (previous forecast of deficit of 470 billion yen, market forecast of 371.2 billion of deficit)
  • Net profit / loss: 615 billion yen deficit (previous forecast deficit of 670 billion yen, market forecast deficit of 582.9 billion yen)

July-September Results

  • Sales: 1,091.8 billion yen (2.6307 trillion yen in the same period last year, market forecast 1.897 billion yen)
  • Operating loss: deficit of 4.8 billion yen (surplus of 30 billion yen in the same period last year, market forecast of deficit of 148 billion yen)
  • Net profit / loss: deficit of 44.4 billion yen (surplus of 59 billion yen in the same period last year, market forecast of deficit of 168.3 billion yen)

The sales plan for the full year was 4,165,000 units, compared to the previous forecast of 4,125,000 units. The assumed exchange rates have been revised to 105.9 yen per dollar and 123.2 yen per euro, 0.2 yen and 3.6 yen respectively from the previous forecast, and the yen depreciates.

By region, the operating result of the North American market for the July-September period, which was promoted during the time of former president Carlos Gone (accused of special back office) in Nissan’s main market, was 44.9 billion yen in the previous year. In addition to a significant increase of 25% year-on-year, Asian business, including China, which is a huge market, also increased from year to year.

Conservative perspective

Nissan to issue dollar-denominated bonds in SeptemberThe company’s cash flow has improved thanks to the issuance of bonds denominated in euros for 8,000 million dollars and 2,000 million euros. Cash and deposits at the end of September were 2,012.8 billion yen, a significant increase from the 1,334.8 billion yen at the end of June.

Car sales, which had been slow due to the spread of the new corona virus infection, are gradually improving, and Toyota Motor Corporation and Honda are showing their business results for the current fiscal year.There are signs of recovery in the industry as a whole, with upward revisions and the return of the German Volkswagen (VW) to an operating surplus in the July-September quarter.

On the other hand, the pace of recovery of Nissan sales, which is undergoing restructuring, is lower than that of the competition, and the new multipurpose vehicle (SUV) sports type “SUV” launched in North America in OctoberIt is targeting a rollback offensive with “Rogue” (Japanese name: X-Trail), and global production in December is expected to rebound to 103% yoy.

CEO Uchida called Rogue “popular” and said it would invest aggressively in advertising and other expenses in line with the introduction of new cars in the future. The effect will be “at the end of the fourth quarter at the earliest, or the first quarter of next year.” Due to the increase in the initial investment, etc., the expected level of profit in the second half of this year (October-March period) “I think there is still a place where it seems a bit conservative when viewed numerically.”

Tatsuo Yoshida, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, predicted that the number of units sold would decline in the July-September period, but it was not enough to incorporate the “financial tightening” effect that would drive the nails. He pointed out that it was not.

There is also the risk of competition with other companies and the re-expansion of the new corona infection, “I am not optimistic that the situation in which the constitution in the essential sense is adequately strengthened and the profit margin will increase will be carried out in a sustainable manner. “. Was.

(We will update by adding details of financial results and comments from Nissan executives and experts.)

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