Nissan Motor returns to operating profit in Q2

Nissan Motor swung back to an operating profit in the second quarter yesterday, reporting its best quarterly result in more than a year due to efforts to reduce fixed costs as part of its turnaround plan and stronger sales in North America.

- DANIEL LEUSSINK TARO FUSE RYO HORIUCHI

Nissan booked ¥51.5 billion ($342 million) in operating profit for July-September, up 61% from ¥31.9 billion a year earlier and beating a forecast for an average ¥70.9 billion loss from five analysts polled by LSEG.

The result marked its best single-quarter finish since a ¥90.3 billion profit in the final quarter of fiscal 2023.

The result comes as the automaker presses ahead with a sweeping turnaround plan that includes reducing its global manufacturing plants to 10 sites from 17 and laying off 15% of its workforce.

The company maintained a forecast released last week for a ¥275-billion annual operating loss in the year through March 2026 due to the hit from US tariffs and supply chain risks, including from problems with the supply of Nexperia chips.