China sales help Nissan close in on chief Carlos Ghosn's key targets
Strong demand in US also contributes to 37pc rise in net income for quarter to June, boosting optimism that chief's strategic goals will be met
Nissan, Japan's second-biggest carmaker, reported profit that beat analysts' estimate as deliveries rose in China and the United States, its two biggest markets.
Net income rose 37 per cent to 112.1 billion yen (HK$8.5 billion) in the April-June quarter, beating the 84.3 billion yen average estimate in an analyst survey.
The profit increase may signal chief executive Carlos Ghosn is gaining traction after making dozens of executive changes in November to improve execution and cut incentives in the US. Deliveries have outpaced Honda and Toyota in the US and China this year, as Nissan chases its targets of 8 per cent operating margin and global market share.
"In terms of their full-year plan, they are pretty much on track," said Kota Yuzawa, a car analyst at Goldman Sachs in Tokyo. "Their China sales are quite strong this year."
Operating profit in the quarter rose 13 per cent to 122.6 billion yen, beating analysts' estimate of 114.2 billion. Sales rose 10 per cent to 2.47 trillion yen, compared with the analysts' estimate of 2.41 trillion yen.
In terms of their full-year plan, they are pretty much on track
Nissan forecasts global deliveries will climb 8.9 per cent to 5.65 million vehicles this fiscal year, representing a global market share of 6.7 per cent, it said in May. Revenue will rise 3 per cent to 10.79 trillion yen, while operating profit will gain 7 per cent to 535 billion yen, the firm said.
