Nissan warned it will post a net loss of as much as ¥750 billion ($5.3 billion) for the fiscal year that ended in March — a record annual deficit — as restructuring charges weigh on the struggling Japanese carmaker.
With an aging lineup, Nissan has been discounting its cars in order to avoid building up inventory, eroding profits. Analysts on average were projecting a loss of ¥112 billion, which itself was worse than Nissan’s prior outlook for a deficit of ¥80 billion.
The even weaker-than-expected results will put increasing pressure on Nissan to find another lifeline after efforts to combine with Honda formally ended earlier this year. That led to the ouster of Chief Executive Officer Makoto Uchida, who’s said it will be “difficult to survive” without a partnership of some sort.
While Nissan slightly raised its sales forecast late Thursday, the company warned that its net loss could be ¥700 billion to ¥750 billion. “This is primarily due to changes in the competitive environment and deterioration in sales performance,” the automaker said.
The company’s shares rose as much as 3.1% on Friday as some analysts noted that there has at least been an improvement in the automaker’s cash position. The stock is still down 29% since January.
Nissan is “finally admitting the inevitable, so that’s a good thing,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Tatsuo Yoshida said. “The market was already expecting a bigger loss.” Yoshida added that while the Japanese automaker is tallying up its losses to make a fresh start, that “doesn’t necessarily mean the future is bright.”
Citigroup analysts said the impairments equated to around 10% of Nissan’s tangible and intangible assets.
“Nissan had been aiming at a cost structure that could generate profits even at production of 3.5 million units but it plans to further improve the breakeven point,” Citigroup’s Arifumi Yoshida wrote in a note. At the end of March, Nissan’s net cash stood at ¥1.49 trillion, up from ¥1.24 trillion as of the end of December and “we view the improvement as somewhat positive.”
The carmaker’s sales are faltering in the U.S. and China while it faces $5.6 billion in debt obligations next year. Nissan’s credit-default swaps widened sharply on Friday morning. Considering the turnaround challenges and bond redemption costs, “a full recovery in fiscal year 2025 appears unlikely,” Hiroki Uchida, credit analyst at Daiwa Securities Group, said.
Nissan also doesn’t have a strong lineup of hybrid vehicles to offer customers in key markets and has been embroiled in management turmoil and infighting since former Chairman Carlos Ghosn was arrested and ousted in 2018.
Uchida, 58, stepped down last month to take responsibility for Nissan’s deteriorating fortunes and was replaced by Ivan Espinosa, who previously had held the title of chief planning officer for a year.
Espinosa, 46, faces the unenviable task of reversing Nissan’s fortunes, refreshing its outdated lineup and finding new business partners. He’ll also have to navigate the upheaval caused by Donald Trump’s sweeping 25% tariffs on car and parts imported into the US.
Operating income is now expected to be ¥85 billion, down from an earlier forecast of ¥120 billion, Nissan said. Net sales are likely to come in at ¥12.6 trillion instead of ¥12.5 trillion, according to the company.
