US demand drives Nissan to record profits
Japans second-largest carmaker, Nissan Motors, posted record annual profits thanks to the robust US demand that propelled the companys global sales to a new all-time high.
Nissans net profit rose 1.7% to Yen 512.3 billion (around $4.8 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2005. At the same time, the companys operating profit increased 4.4% to Yen 861.2 billion (around $8.1 billion).
Nissan is forecasting sales of Yen 9 trillion (around $85 billion) for the current fiscal year. Assuming the company can meet its sales target, Nissan is predicting net profit of Yen 517 billion (around $4.89 billion) and operating profit of Yen 870 billion (around $8.2 billion).
The company sees higher energy and commodity prices as well as uncertain growth in the US and Japanese markets as risk factors for the current fiscal year.