Car maker Nissan Motor Company today said that its net loss has narrowed to 11.6 billion yen ($125 million) in the first three months of the year, driven by sales growth in emerging countries.
In the year-ago period, the company had incurred a loss of 276.9 billion yen, Nissan said in a statement.
"Though we are still operating in crisis mode, Nissan is well on track toward complete recovery, without any compromise on our strategic priorities," Nissan President and CEO Carlos Ghosn said.
The company's net sales rose by 22 per cent from the year-ago period to 2.13 trillion yen in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2010.
During the January-March period of 2010, vehicle sales in China jumped by 48 per cent, North America surged ahead by 26 per cent while Europe and Japan went up by 17 per cent each.
Nissan said that the car production capacity at its Chennai plant, which currently stands at 200,000 units, would soon be increased to 400,000. Through this, the company would be able to cater to the Indian market and step up exports to more than 100 countries across Europe, Africa and the Middle- East.
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For the full fiscal year, Nissan said it has returned into profit, posting a net income of 42.39 billion yen after a loss of 233.71 billion yen in the previous year.
The company is bullish on its outlook and expects its net income to more than triple to 150 billion yen in the year through March 2011.
Nissan's annual revenue fell by 10.9 per cent to 7.52 trillion yen, on account of the strong yen. The company is projecting an annual revenue of 8.2 trillion for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2011
The company sold a total of 3,515,000 vehicles worldwide in the fiscal year 2009, a 3 per cent increase compared to the prior year.
Nissan further said that though sales were down in Europe and North America, it had recovered in Japan. In China, sales jumped by 39 per cent to 756,000 vehicles.
The company said, "Significant contributors to Nissan's performance compared to last year were the sales volume growth in emerging markets, especially in China, and the effective execution of recovery plan actions to counter the effects of the global financial and economic crisis."
Nissan said it would continue to be fully engaged in its recovery plan, which is focused around three core pillars -- revenue growth, tight cost management and free cash flow generation. The company aims to complete its recovery in the fiscal year 2010.