Like so many other automakers, Nissan rode the wave of record sales in North America to a profit last quarter.
The Japanese automaker reported a 24% increase in operating profit to $1.6 billion on revenue of $24.8 billion.
Through three quarters, Nissan posted an operating profit of $4.8 billion, representing an increase of 40.6% on revenue of $73.5 billion, up 10.6%.
The company sold more cars during the last financial period – Nissan’s third quarter – than the year-ago period by nearly 2%, totaling 1.28 million worldwide.
“Our product offensive has reaped rewards in North America and Western Europe, where buoyant consumer demand and rising unit sales underpinned Nissan’s overall profit-growth,” said Carlos Ghosn, president and chief executive officer.
“Our strong performance in these markets offset the impact of unfavorable exchange-rates from emerging markets and challenging market conditions elsewhere in the world.”
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North America did lead the way with Asia sales also adding to the bottom line. Sales in North America rising 12% to 485,000 vehicles and Asia jumping 5.7% in the region, despite China sliding 5.7%.
“It’s very clear the driving force is North America,” Seiji Sugiura, an analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Center, said before Nissan released its results. “Their new cars have contributed to improvement in both profitability and sales.”
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For the nine-month period, the company’s global sales are up 1.4% to 3.89 million units. Nissan expects to sell 5.5 million vehicles worldwide this fiscal year: a 7% increase over the 5.14 million sold the year before.
Officials confirmed the company expects to meet its financial forecasts for the year, including revenue of $102.6 billion and operating profit of $6.1 billion.
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“Nissan remains on track to achieve its full year financial forecast, reflecting encouraging sales trends in the U.S. and parts of Europe, along with the continued benefits of our cost-discipline and Alliance strategy,” said Ghosn.
