By Kosaku Narioka


Nissan Motor shares fell sharply after it lowered its estimate for fiscal year net profit, partly due to slower car sales, falling short of analysts' expectations.

Shares were recently 3.6% lower at 541.2 yen Monday morning after falling as much as 4.5% earlier.

The Japanese automaker said after Friday's market close that net profit likely climbed 67% to Y370.00 billion ($2.39 billion) for the year ended March. That was lower than its previous forecast of Y390.00 billion and below analysts' estimate of Y403.90 billion in a FactSet poll.

Nissan Chief Executive Makoto Uchida said Friday that market demand for cars declined, making its operating environment more difficult.

The automaker said that it sold 3.44 million vehicles last fiscal year, fewer than expected, and that it took steps to mitigate inflation's impact on suppliers, hurting its bottom line.

In March, the Japan Fair Trade Commission said it found Nissan cut payments to subcontractors without any fault on their part from January 2021 to April 2023. The antitrust regulator said it told the carmaker not to engage in similar conduct in the future.


Write to Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-21-24 2239ET