China lockdown, chip shortages hit Nissan Q1 net profit

Nissan said on Thursday that net profit sank nearly 60 per cent in the three months to June as pressures including a lockdown in Shanghai and chip shortages weighed on business.

The Japanese auto giant, which in May reported a positive full-year net profit for the first time in three years, said it logged a net profit of 47.1 billion yen ($347 million), down 58.9 per cent.

"During the first quarter, the extremely challenging business environment put pressure on earnings," Nissan said in a statement.

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"Production was constrained by the Shanghai lockdown caused by spread of the new coronavirus, and semiconductor supply shortages, while external factors such as soaring raw material prices and logistics costs also intensified their impact."

"The pandemic understandably remains a priority challenge," chief operating officer Ashwani Gupta told reporters.

"At the same time, we experienced tailwinds with favourable foreign exchange rates," he added, referring to the yen's recent slump against the dollar, which helps inflate overseas profits for Japanese firms.

Despite the challenges, the firm left its full-year forecast unchanged, projecting a net profit of 150 billion yen.

That would be a 30.4 per cent slump, however, from the previous year's 215.5 billion yen.