Nissan revises down its earnings forecast with bigger losses

Nissan says it expects to rack up a loss totaling 700 billion yen ($4.9 billion) to 750 billion yen ($5.3 billion) for the fiscal year through March because of declining sales and the losing value of its assets

TOKYO -- Nissan expects to rack up a loss totaling 700 billion yen ($4.9 billion) to 750 billion yen ($5.3 billion) for the fiscal year through March because of declining sales and the losing value of its assets, the embattled Japanese automaker said Thursday.

Nissan Motor Corp. was already expecting red ink, but the projected loss for the year was previously lower at 80 billion yen ($561 million).

It said the cost of impairments — which refer to the lost value of assets — exceeded 500 billion yen ($3.5 billion) and came after a review of production assets in North America, Latin America, Europe and Japan.

Annual sales have also declined, with an expected 3.35 million vehicles, fewer than the 3.4 million vehicles projected in February.

Nissan, which makes the Altima mid-size sedan and Infiniti luxury models, reports earnings results May 13.

The company, based in the port city of Yokohama, has been slashing production at its U.S. plants and offering buyouts to factory workers there.

Some analysts believe Nissan’s lineup is not appealing enough, causing sales to shrink in major markets like the U.S. and China.

Despite being a pioneer in EVs with the Leaf, which went on sale in 2010, Nissan has fallen behind the competition in EVs, as well as hybrids, to powerful rivals like Tesla in the U.S. and Byd of China.

Nissan stressed its solid cash position. It expects to end the fiscal year 2024 with net cash of nearly 1.5 trillion yen ($10.5 billion), as well as 3.4 trillion yen ($24 billion) in liquidity.

“Despite these challenges, we have significant financial resources, a strong product pipeline and the determination to turnaround Nissan in the coming period,” Chief Executive Ivan Espinosa said in a statement.

Espinosa, who replaced Makoto Uchida as head of Nissan on April 1, has vowed to make the company nimbler.

Earlier this year, Nissan ended the talks it was holding with Japanese rival Honda Motor Co. s ince last year to integrate their business and set up a joint holding company. The automakers will continue to work together on electric vehicles and smart cars, including autonomous driving.

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