Nissan sees smaller full-year operating loss as turnaround efforts bear fruit

[TOKYO] Nissan sharply trimmed its outlook for a full-year loss on Thursday (Feb 12) after reporting a surprise profit in the third quarter – a sign the troubled Japanese automaker’s turnaround is gaining traction.

It is struggling to right itself after years of turmoil. Under CEO Ivan Espinosa, the company laid out a sweeping turnaround plan that included reducing its global manufacturing footprint and cutting its workforce by 15 per cent.

It now expects an operating loss of 60 billion yen (S$494 million) for the year until the end of March, lower than its previous outlook of a 275 billion yen shortfall.

Espinosa told an earnings briefing that the automaker remained committed to fiscal discipline.

The company reported a 44 per cent fall in operating profit to 17.5 billion yen for the October-to-December quarter, reflecting strong headwinds from US tariffs.

That was, however, better than the 81 billion yen loss in forecast by six analysts in a survey by the London Stock Exchange Group.

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Nissan had reported a 31.1 billion yen profit for the same year-ago period. REUTERS