TOKYO — Nissan Motor downgraded its earnings forecast for the fiscal year ended March to a net loss of as much as 95 billion yen ($886 million), as the company continues to be hit severely by the impact of the novel coronavirus crisis.
The Japanese carmaker announced on Tuesday that its net income could be between 150 billion yen and 160 billion yen lower than its previous forecast of 65 billion yen, which was already down by 70.6% from the previous year that ended in March 2019.
Its operating profit could be 120 billion to 130 billion yen lower than the previous forecast of 85 billion yen, which was 73% less than the previous year.
Nissan’s loss reflects the impact of the novel coronavirus on factory output and the subsequent decline in sales. Reserves for restructuring efforts are not reflected, and “there is a possibility that Nissan may book an additional provision,” the company said in a statement.
Also on Tuesday, the company disclosed vehicle sales figures, which showed that the annual sales for the fiscal year ended March declined by 13% globally. In March alone, sales plunged by 42.6%.
Toyota Motor announced its sales units the same day.The figure for global sales fell for three consecutive months and by 23.8% in March from the previous year. It is the first fall by more than 20% that the Japanese company has seen since 2011, when a destructive earthquake in the country affected production.