Nissan reports boosted Q1 profit on improved sales in China, U.S.July 28, 2014 - 13:41 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Nissan Motor Co's operating profit rose a higher-than-expected 13.4 percent in the April-June quarter on improved sales in the United States and China, its two largest markets, following a change in senior management overseeing U.S. operations, Reuters reported. Nissan said on Monday its first-quarter operating profit was 122.6 billion yen ($1.20 billion), exceeding the 109.1 billion yen mean estimate of 12 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. It stuck with an annual operating profit forecast of 535 billion yen for the financial year ending in March 2015. Jose Munoz took over the company's struggling North American operations in January as it aims to boost its U.S. market share to 10 percent from the current 8.6 percent. Nissan's April-June vehicle sales grew 14.1 percent in the United States to around 350,000 vehicles in the quarter, while globally they rose 6 percent to 1.24 million. Nissan's average incentive offering per vehicle was $2,323 for April-June, according to data from TrueCar, the highest among Japanese carmakers, although it has been declining over the past few months. "Nissan is well placed to deliver on its outlook given our continued offensive along with measures to enhance competitiveness, build market share and the ongoing benefits of our alliance strategy," Nissan Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn said in a statement. Last financial year, Nissan posted a 4.8 percent operating profit margin, the worst among its Japanese peers, squeezed by the cost of a rapid expansion drive aimed at lifting its global market share. Nissan's shares ended 0.8 percent higher on Monday ahead of the earnings release, compared with a 0.5 percent rise in Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei average. Japan's second-largest automaker is up 13 percent so far this year, outperforming the benchmark's 5 percent drop. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | European Parliament to discuss repression in Azerbaijan The European Parliament will discuss repression of civil society in Azerbaijan on April 24 PACE wants concessions from Azerbaijan to accept Baku back A PACE co-rapporteur said that Azerbaijani authorities must make certain concessions so that the country can return to PACE. Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide. Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed. |