Nissan Motor stuck in the red in Q1

Nissan Motor said Wednesday it remained mired in the red in the April-June quarter because of weak sales in recession-hit major markets including at home, the United States and Europe.

But Japan's number three automaker, in which France's Renault has a 44-percent stake, said it was seeing some signs of an improvement and voiced optimism about prospects for its zero-emission electric vehicles. Nissan, which is axing 20,000 jobs to cope with the global economic crisis, logged a net loss of 16.53 billion yen (175 million dollars) for the fiscal first quarter to June, against a year-earlier profit of 52.80 billion yen. Operating profit plunged 85.5 percent to 11.60 billion yen as revenue slumped 35.5 percent to 1.51 trillion yen.

"2009 continues to be a tough year, but we are beginning to see positive results from the measures taken under our recovery plan," said Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn, who also heads Renault.

Nissan's global vehicle sales fell 22.8 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier to 723,000 vehicles, as declines in North America, Japan and Europe wiped out the benefits of rising demand in China.

AFP