Third-quarter
operating profit returns to positive at 27.1 billion yen as full-year forecasts
are revised
YOKOHAMA, Japan (Feb. 9, 2021) – 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.”
1 Net income or net loss attributable to owners of the parent
2 Since the beginning of fiscal year 2013, Nissan
has reported figures calculated under the equity method accounting for its
joint venture with Dong Feng in China. Although net income reporting remains
unchanged under this accounting method, the equity-accounting income statements
no longer include Dong Feng-Nissan’s results in revenue and operating profit.
3 On a
management pro forma basis
To learn more about Nissan’s financial performance, visit https://www.nissan-global.com/EN/IR/FINANCIAL/.
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