YOKOHAMA, Japan — Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Corp. has flipped to a net profit for the first quarter of the current fiscal cycle, marking an unexpected turnaround after two consecutive years of deep annual losses, company officials announced Monday.
The Yokohama-based manufacturer reported a 3.8 billion yen ($24 million) net profit for the January-to-March period, a stark reversal from the 115.8 billion yen net loss it recorded in the same three-month stretch last year. Quarterly total revenue also climbed 9.5% year-over-year, rising from 2.7 trillion yen to 2.96 trillion yen ($19 billion).
Nissan has accumulated billions of dollars in losses over the past two fiscal years, but executive leadership has committed to a full return to profitability for the 2026-2027 fiscal year, which concludes in March 2027. In a press briefing, Chief Executive Ivan Espinosa confirmed that the company’s aggressive cost-reduction strategy is now gaining traction, though uneven market performance across the globe continues to pose challenges.
“ We are managing disruption where it exists, building momentum where we see opportunity,” Espinosa told reporters. Growth in sales is holding steady in key markets including the United States and Japan, but the brand continues to see weak results in the Middle East, he added.
The ongoing conflict in Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping chokepoint for Japanese trade with the Middle East, adding a layer of supply chain uncertainty for the automaker. In China, Nissan’s sales have been hit hard by cutthroat competition from domestic Chinese brands, which have seized a dominant lead in the fast-growing electric vehicle segment that Nissan was once an early pioneer in.
As a result of ongoing headwinds in China, Nissan has cut its full-year global sales projection to 3.15 million vehicles, matching last year’s total output and down from an earlier forecast of 3.3 million units. The company maintains its alliance with France’s Renault SA and Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors, and also holds a technology and parts-sharing partnership with Japanese rival Honda Motor Co.
Espinosa also addressed recent operational disruption from a magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck southwestern Japan’s Kumamoto region last week. The tremor forced partial halts to Nissan production lines, but no employees were injured and no major damage was reported to Nissan facilities or those of its supply partners. Production disruptions are expected to wrap up by Wednesday, with an estimated total impact of 5,000 lost vehicles, Espinosa said.
In the U.S. market, Nissan and other Japanese automakers continue to grapple with elevated import tariffs imposed by the administration of President Donald Trump. After negotiations, tariffs were lowered to 15% from the initial proposed 27.5%, but remain far higher than the previous 2.5% rate. Persistently high raw material costs also continue to put pressure on the company’s bottom line.
Despite these overlapping challenges, Nissan has reaffirmed its earlier full-year fiscal forecasts, targeting a 20 billion yen ($127 million) net profit on 13 trillion yen ($83 billion) in total annual sales. “Our focus is unchanged: Creating value for customers, improving profitability and free cash flow, and building a stronger, more resilient Nissan for the long term,” Espinosa said.