subject: Nissan Doesn't Escape 2009's Tough Economic Climate Unscathed [print this page] In the midst of a difficult year for the auto industry, many wondered how Nissan would perform in 2009. While the company was not immune to the financial woes of the world's automakers, Nissan still managed to keep a firm hold on its standing as an industry giant.
So, how did Nissan do in 2009? For the fiscal year (ending 3/31/2010), Nissan posted net revenues of $84 billion US dollars and was anticipating an operating profit of $3.15 billion and net income of $380 million. And while Nissan Motors (NSANY) began the fiscal year with a stock price of $7.60, the year closed at an encouraging $17.20.
Nissan's sales figures weren't quite as luminous. While Nissan's global market share was 5.4% in 2009, year-end sales through December totaled only 3,358,413 units, a 9.4% decrease from 2008. And though China, Nissan's second largest market, supported the company with a 38.7% increase in passenger car sales, North American sales were down 17.9% in 2009. For the U.S. alone, Nissan and Infiniti achieved a record market share of 7.4% despite a 19.1% decrease in annual sales (down to 770,103 vehicles). And the Nissan-Renault Alliance, consisting of the Nissan Group, the Renault Group and Lada, experienced only a slight (0.09%) drop in annual worldwide sales (down to 6,085,058 units).
While Titan sales were disappointing in 2009, Nissan had a number of strong sellers, including the Rogue, Maxima, 370Z, Altima and Versa. The GT-R also strengthened Nissan by achieving status as the 2009 World Performance Car of the Year.
Nissan production dropped by 19.2% globally from 2008 to 2009. An even greater decline (31.6%) was seen in the United States.
Despite a rocky 2009, Nissan persevered and has already begun to steady itself, announcing that March 2010 sales are up 43.3% for Nissan North America.
