Nissan Posts First Annual Profit in Three Years.

In Japan early this morning, Nissan Motor posted an annual fiscal-year 2021 net profit of 215.5 billion yen (~$1.67 billion) – its first net profit since fiscal year 2018-19. This was better than its forecast of 205 billion yen. However, like Toyota yesterday,  Nissan said operating conditions require caution so it is predicting a net profit for the current fiscal year of 150 billion yen. (AutoInformed – Toyota Annual Results Show Profitability Struggle Goes On)

“It is clear that our industry and therefore our performance was impacted by intensifying headwinds in the last fiscal year,” said chief operating officer Ashwani Gupta, warning that conditions remain uncertain to an unprecedented degree.

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Full-Year Financial results

“The business environment in fiscal year 2021 remained extremely challenging, affected by external factors such as the prolonged spread of the novel coronavirus, semiconductor supply shortages, and high raw material prices. Despite these challenges, Nissan has continued to make steady progress with its Nissan NEXT transformation plan by strengthening its business foundation, improving quality of sales, and bringing new models to market,

“In fiscal year 2021 profitability improved significantly year on year due to continued financial discipline and strict control of fixed costs. The improvement in the quality of sales globally supported by favorable market conditions in the U.S., led to a significant increase in net revenue per unit of major new models contributing to improved profitability for the period.

“For the full fiscal year, consolidated net revenue was 8.42 trillion yen, resulting in an operating profit of 247.3 billion yen with an operating margin of 2.9%, and a net income¹ of 215.5 billion yen. The fiscal year also marked Nissan’s first return to profitability in three fiscal years and the achievement of an operating margin of 2%, set as a milestone under Nissan NEXT. Free cash flow for the automotive business was a negative 294.7-billion yen, automotive net cash was 728 billion yen. In light of its improved performance, Nissan plans to pay a year-end dividend of 5 yen per share for fiscal year 2021,” Nissan said.