TOKYO – Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., today announced financial results for the first half of fiscal year 2006, ending March 31, 2007, as well as second-quarter performance. In the six months through September, net income after tax totaled 274.2 billion yen (US $2.38 billion, euro 1.93 billion), up 18.8% compared with the same period last year due to the sale of Nissan Diesel Motor Co., Ltd. shares, favorable pension benefits from our operations in China and tax benefits resulting from losses incurred from our domestic dealer restructuring.
Net revenues amounted to 4.534 trillion yen (US $39.29 billion, euro 31.87 billion) in the April-to-September period, up 1.0% compared with a year ago. Operating profit totaled 348.6 billion yen (US $3.02 billion, euro 2.45 billion), down 15.3%, while the operating profit margin came to 7.7%. Ordinary profit amounted to 360.9 billion yen (US $3.13 billion, euro 2.54 billion), down 8.8%.
In the first half, Nissan sold a total of 1,709,000 vehicles worldwide, down 6.9% compared with last year.
As forecasted, a combination of external headwinds and a lack of new product resulted in a lower level of performance in the first six months, said Nissan President and CEO Carlos Ghosn. In the second half, and into 2007, you will see a return to the intense product launch activity that has fueled Nissans profitable growth in the past, continued Ghosn.
During the first six months of 2006, Nissan launched just one of its ten all-new products for this fiscal year. During the next six months nine new products will be introduced globally, led by the Sentra, Altima and Infiniti G35 sedans in the US, the Qashqai compact crossover in Europe, the all-new Skyline sedan and Otti minicar in Japan, and the Livina Geniss in China.
In the July-to-September second quarter, Nissans net income totaled 164.0 billion yen (US $1.42 billion, euro 1.15 billion), an increase of 31.2%. Net revenues amounted to 2.324 trillion yen (US $20.14 billion, euro 16.33 billion), down 0.9% compared with a year ago. Operating profit totaled 195.3 billion yen (US $1.69 billion, euro 1.37 billion), down 4.9%, while the operating profit margin came to 8.4%.
Nissans operating profit margin improved significantly compared with the first quarter when it posted a profit margin of 6.9% amid a one-time warranty charge in North America.
Ordinary profit amounted to 204.1 billion yen (US $1.77 billion, euro 1.43 billion), up 10.4%.
Nissan sold a total of 883,000 vehicles worldwide in the second quarter, down 7.6% compared with the prior year.
Nissan continues to identify risks to the forecast including higher incentive levels worldwide, mix and grade deterioration, high commodity prices, high energy prices and higher interest rates. Opportunities come from the flawless implementation of the Nissan Value-Up plan and favorable foreign exchange rates. Our initial forecast remains unchanged for the full fiscal year.
Note: Amounts in dollars and euros are translated for the convenience of the reader only at the foreign exchange rates of 115.4 yen/dollar and 142.3 yen/euro, the average rates for the first half of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2007.
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