Nissan raises profit outlook as sales rebound from pandemic slump

Nissan on Tuesday raised its full-year operating profit outlook by 20% as sales rebounded from a pandemic slump and tight supplies of vehicles allowed it to lower incentive payments and boost margins

TOKYO (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co on Tuesday raised its full-year operating profit outlook by 20% as sales rebounded from a pandemic slump and tight supplies of vehicles allowed it to lower incentive payments and boost margins.

Nissan like other big global carmakers has been forced to cut output because of a shortage of semiconductors and other components. But demand for cars in key markets such as China and the United States is growing.

Nissan raised its full-year profit forecast to 180 billion yen ($1.59 billion) from 150 billion yen. That prediction is higher than a mean 161 billion yen profit based on forecasts from 23 analysts, Refinitiv data shows.

Last week, Honda Motor Co cut its full-year operating profit outlook 15% to 660 billion because of the chip shortage, while Toyota Motor Corp cut its annual vehicle sales target and warned that the lack of semiconductors still posed a risk to its production plans.

Nissan said it posted a second quarter operating profit of 62.8 billion yen for the three months to Sept. 30 compared with a loss of 4.8 billion yen a year earlier. That result was better than an average 4.4 billion yen loss forecast based on estimates from 10 analysts, Refinitiv data shows.

 

 

(Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)