Nissan full-year net profit more than halves to near-decade low

Crisis-hit Nissan on Tuesday revealed full-year net profits at a near-decade low and forecast a further decline as it battles to recover after the shock arrest of its talismanic former boss Carlos Ghosn.

The Japanese firm’s bottom-line profit for the fiscal year to March fell 57.3 percent to 319.1 billion yen ($2.9 billion), the lowest since 2009-10 when the company was struggling in the wake of the global financial crisis.

Sales fell 3.2 percent with operating profit down for a third straight year, said Nissan — which is allied with France’s Renault and fellow Japanese carmaker Mitsubishi Motors.

The results were in line with its downward revision announced last month.

For the year to March 2020, Nissan said its net profit would nearly halve further to 170 billion yen with sales projected to fall 2.4 percent.

The results came as ex-chairman Ghosn, now released on bail, awaits his fate after prosecutors hit him with the fourth set of charges over alleged financial misconduct.

Among other accusations, authorities suspect he syphoned off around $5 million for his personal use from money transferred from Nissan to a dealership in Oman.

Ghosn denies that charge and insists he is innocent of all allegations against him.