Nissan reports loss for year amid global slowdown

TOKYO -- Nissan, Japan's No. 3 automaker, reported a $2.4 billion (233.7 billion yen) annual loss, a reversal of fortune from the previous profitable year but better than the company's own forecasts.

But the company, which is allied with Renault SA of France, is expecting to reduce the red ink for the fiscal year through March 2010, to a 170 billion yen loss, he said.

"We are beginning to see some signs of improved access to credit, the impact of government stimulus packages and a gradual return in consumer confidence," President and Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said, while remaining cautious about the future.

"The crisis is ongoing and market conditions are still volatile," he told reporters at Nissan's Tokyo headquarters.

Nissan had recorded a 482.3 billion yen profit for the previous fiscal year ended March 2008. In February, the automaker projected a 265 billion yen loss for the fiscal year ended March 2009. Analysts had also made forecasts close to Nissan's.

Nissan is not the only Japanese automaker battered by the global slowdown.

Toyota, the world's largest automaker, has fared worse, racking up a 436.94 billion yen annual loss, partly because of its size and its past success that had fueled an ambitious expansion drive.

Honda Motor Co., by contrast, has done better, managing to stay in the black for the fiscal year with a 137 billion yen profit.

Nissan's sales plunged 22% from the previous fiscal year to 8.437 trillion yen. That was also better than Nissan's initial sales forecast.

It sold 3.4 million vehicles worldwide during the fiscal year, down 9.5% from the previous year, as vehicle sales dropped in the U.S., Japan and Europe.

But sales grew in China, according to Nissan, which makes the March subcompact and Infiniti luxury models.