Nissan predicting 30% profit slump

Earlier this week Nissan announced a healthy operating profit of $6.91 billion for the last fiscal year but has warned the road will be rocky and is predicting a profit slump for the current financial year of 30.5% - down to around $4.8 billion. Nissan is blaming unfavorable currency swings, rising material costs and higher oil prices for the slump, revealing it will be impossible to avoid the situation.

Nissan is not the only carmaker predicting bad times ahead. Toyota, which hasn’t reported a profit dip in seven years, is expecting a 27% decline for the coming year, down to about $12 billion. Honda, too, which reported record profits for the previous year, expects levels to slip by 18% to about $4.7 billion.

Nissan’s sales have been on the rise, increasing by 8.2% last year to about 3.77 million vehicles worldwide, and these levels are expected to remain stable despite the dire profit warning, reports the Associated Press.

The carmaker has a number of plans in place to maintain the sales momentum in coming years. As revealed in its new GT 2012 five year plan, Nissan will focus on improving quality, becoming a leader in zero-emissions electric vehicles and undertake a full model onslaught with the launch of 60 all-new models.