Nissan Motor Co’s (7201.T) first-quarter operating profit fell 14% to 64.9 billion yen ($478.08 million); the Japanese carmaker said, citing surging raw material costs and production disruption from COVID-19 lockdowns.
Earnings for the three months to June 30 beat an average estimate of 45.8 billion yen from 11 analysts, Refinitiv data shows. The company stuck to its full-year operating forecast of 250 billion yen for the year to March 31.
Nissan, like other automakers, has struggled with a global shortage of semiconductor chips. And warned that it expects raw material and logistics costs to increase by about 1.5 times this fiscal year; which ends in March 2023.
Nissan said its global vehicle production was down 26.5% for April, blaming the semiconductor shortage. Global production went up in May by 1.7% on the year, in its first increase since June last year, but then fell 0.8% in June.
The auto part supply and logistics problems have led the automaker to temporarily suspend orders of the electric Ariya B6 and the new Fairlady Z sports car for domestic customers as of the end of the month.