Third-quarter operating profit returns to positive at 27.1 billion yen as full-year forecasts are revise.

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. today announced financial results for the April-December period of fiscal year 2020 and the revised outlook for fiscal year 2020.

In the third quarter of the fiscal year, consolidated net revenue was 2.22 trillion yen, consolidated operating profit was 27.1 billion yen, and the operating profit margin was 1.2%. The net loss1 in the third quarter was 37.8 billion yen. Compared with the same period last year, improvements in selling expenses and reductions in manufacturing and fixed costs resulted in a positive contribution to profit.

The recovery in each quarter is evident, with improved retail sales and a strengthened financial base as outlined in the Nissan NEXT business transformation plan. Nissan returned to a positive operating profit in the third quarter, versus previous quarters.

Third-quarter financial highlights

The following table summarizes Nissan’s financial results for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2020, calculated under the equity accounting method for the group’s China joint venture.

(TSE report basis – China JV equity basis)2

Yen in billions

FY19 3Q

FY20 3Q

Variance vs FY19

FY20 1Q

FY20 2Q

Revenue

2,504.2

2,224.8

-279.4

1,174.2

1,918.5

Operating profit

22.7

27.1

4.4

-153.9

-4.8

Net income1

-26.1

-37.8

-11.7

-285.6

-44.4

* Based on average foreign exchange rates of 104.5 JPY /USD and 124.6 JPY /EUR for FY20 Q3

April-December financial highlights

For the first nine months of the fiscal year, consolidated net revenue was 5.32 trillion yen, the consolidated operating loss was 131.6 billion yen, and the operating profit margin was -2.5%. The net loss1 for the nine months was 367.7 billion yen. Following the performance recovery of the third quarter, improvements are being made in consolidated operating loss and operating profit margins.

(TSE report basis – China JV equity basis)2

Yen in billions

FY19 3Q YTD

FY20 3Q YTD

Variance vs FY19

Revenues

7,507.3

5,317.4

-2,189.9

Operating profit

54.3

-131.6

-185.9

Operating margin %

0.7%

-2.5%

-3.2ppt

Ordinary profit

141.4

-216.3

-357.7

Net income1

39.3

-367.7

-407.0

* Based on average foreign exchange rates of 106.1 JPY /USD and 122.4 JPY /EUR for FY20 3Q YTD

On a management pro forma basis, which includes the proportionate consolidation of results from Nissan’s joint venture operation in China, the operating loss was 40.4 billion yen, equivalent to an operating margin of -0.7%. The net loss1 was 367.7 billion yen.

Nissan continues to strategically accumulate liquidity under the difficult business environment including the spread of COVID-19 infection, in order to overcome the crisis. At the end of September 2020, cash and cash equivalents were approximately 2 trillion yen and net cash totaled 525.5 billion yen for the automotive segment. Furthermore, Nissan has unused committed credit facilities of approximately 2.1 trillion yen as of the end of December 2020.

FY2020 outlook

For fiscal 2020, Nissan expects sales volume to decrease by 3.6% over the previous forecast to 4,015 thousand vehicles. Despite the negative impact of decrease in volume, Nissan revised its full-year outlook as follows due to improvements in selling expenses as well as sales finance, manufacturing and fixed costs.

Nissan is forecasting net revenue of 7.70 trillion yen. The company foresees an operating loss of 205 billion yen, which is 135 billion yen better than the previous outlook. A net loss1 of 530 billion yen is expected, which is 85 billion yen better than the previous outlook.

The company has filed the following fiscal year outlook to the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Calculated under the equity accounting method for Nissan’s joint venture in China, the forecasts for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021, are:

(TSE report basis – China JV equity basis)2

Yen in billions

Previous FY20 outlook

Revised FY20 outlook

Variance

vs Previous outlook

Net revenue

7,940

7,700

-240

Operating profit

-340

-205

+135

Net income1

-615

-530

+85

Nissan will continue its efforts to improve the quality of sales, reduce inventories and optimize costs in the fourth quarter to achieve its revised full-year outlook.

“We are steadfastly advancing the Nissan NEXT business transformation plan,” said Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida. “We will further improve our financial discipline, renew our product lineup and improve the quality of our sales, while carefully monitoring possible risks. As an important milestone under Nissan NEXT, we will firmly pursue our aim to achieve a 2% operating margin in fiscal year 2021.3”

“While we will remain disciplined in transforming our business, we will further enhance our electrification technology, which is one of our strengths, and continue to launch electrified vehicles globally toward our goal of carbon neutrality in 2050 so that we can enhance our future corporate and brand value.”