Nissan Motor shares fell the most in two months after the embattled carmaker forecast a ¥275 billion (R31 billion) operating loss this year as it pushes ahead with a cost-cutting spree to rescue its deteriorating financial position.
The outlook is the Japanese manufacturer’s first for the fiscal year ending in March 2026, after it previously withheld profit guidance.
It estimates a ¥30 billion (R3.3 billion) loss for the April-September period, a better outcome than its previous forecast that it would lose ¥180 billion (R20 billion).
“Nissan continues to face challenges exacerbated by external headwinds,” Chief Financial Officer Jeremie Papin told reporters on Thursday.
The shares fell as much as 6.1% in early Tokyo trading Friday, the biggest decline on an intraday basis since Aug. 26. The stock is down around 27% this year.
Nissan is facing its worst financial crisis in more than two decades, when it was rescued from near bankruptcy by French carmaker Renault.
The struggling company has faced cratering profits and a mountain of debt, after a revolving-door leadership and weak product lineup were compounded by weak sales in the US and China.
Chief Executive Officer Ivan Espinosa pledged earlier this year to cut 20,000 jobs and reduce Nissan’s global manufacturing operations from 17 sites down to 10.
A major part of Espinosa’s plan is to rein in excess capacity.
This includes shifting production in Mexico from the Civac plant to its Aguascalientes complex by the end of the fiscal year, and ending output at its flagship domestic factory in Oppama by March 2028.
The second-quarter loss is smaller than previously forecast due to one-time costs and other factors, rather than dramatic improvements at Nissan, said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Tatsuo Yoshida.
“It’s unclear whether progress will happen as planned.”
Papin attributed the smaller loss to US emission regulations, previous liabilities and other “one-time factors and deferred costs.”
The company declined to share its restructuring costs or full-year outlooks for profit or net losses.
Details will be announced Nov. 6 alongside its financial results, Papin said.
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