Nissan Motor Co. probably turned profitable in the recently ended fiscal year and investors will be looking for hints as to whether that momentum will carry forward as the Japanese automaker faces new risks from rising material prices to a potential slow-down in demand for cars.
Analysts, on average, estimate Nissan will report an annual operating profit on Thursday for the first time in three years, of around ¥223 billion ($1.7 billion) for the period ended March. Nissan forecast in February a ¥210 billion profit.
Over the past two years, Nissan has been working to restructure operations and bolster its profitability by cutting costs, streamlining operations and increasing quality of sales via a slew of new and refreshed models. Those efforts recently got a boost by a weakened yen that’s lifting the value of its overseas earnings.