Nissan on Friday reported its net profit dropped by 42.8 percent from the same time period last year, largely due to an increasing yen and the falling value of leased vehicles. The net profit is now 52.8 billion yen ($505 million), with sales that were also reduced by 4.1 percent to $22.4 billion.
“We have identified the major risks and taken actions to address them, particularly in the U.S. market,” said Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn in a statement, as per a Detroit News report. Despite the lower demand in the U.S. and in its home market, where Nissan is the third-largest automaker, the company remains on-track to post a profit of 340 billion yen ($3.3 billion) in the fiscal year, ending March 2009.
Globally, Nissan sold 6.9 percent more vehicles than in 2007, totaling 936,000. U.S. sales accounted for 253,000 units, representing a 1.5 percent drop from the previous year in a market that fell overall by 12 percent during the quarter.
