TOKYO: Nissan Motor Co. on Thursday reported its first annual group net loss in 11 years as its vehicle sales declined globally amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Nissan logged a net loss of 671,216 million yen for the year through March, against the year-before profit of 319,138 million yen. The loss also reflected substantial structural reform costs.

The Japanese automaker posted an operating loss of 40,469 million yen, against 318,224 million yen in profit. Its sales totaled 9,878,866 million yen, down 14.6 percent.

Nissan stopped short of releasing its earnings projections for fiscal 2020, which started in April, due to uncertainties related to the COVID-19 crisis.

In fiscal 2019, Nissan incurred a fall in vehicle sales in many regions, including its mainstay North American market, due to a delay in new model launches.

Its global vehicle sales slipped below 5 million units for the first time in seven years.

The coronavirus outbreak dealt an additional blow toward the end of the business year.

Nissan will review its medium-term business program through fiscal 2022 to break away from the expansionary policy taken by former Chairman Carlos Ghosn.

The company's business reconstruction measures include plans to slash excessive production capacity in a bid to cut fixed costs.

Nissan also aims to focus its resources on the Japanese, North American and Chinese markets.

It hopes to improve its business efficiency further through enhanced cooperation with its alliance partners, Renault SA and Mitsubishi Motors Corp.

JIJI Press