By Gina Lee
Investing.com – Nissan (OTC:NSANY) Motor Co., Ltd. (T:7201) shares slumped to their lowest level in four months on Wednesday, after the release of weaker-than-expected guidance for the 2020 fiscal year.
Shares dropped 11.75% to JPY510.60 ($4.7) by 12:47 AM ET (4:47 AM GMT), after falling over 12% earlier in the session.
The Japanese automaker missed expectations for a return to profitability in the year ending March 2022, as the current global chip shortage, combined with increasing raw material prices hindered its recovery from a record annual operating loss.
“The fiscal year 2020 was a year dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic and impacted by multiple factors including the growth of environmental awareness and political as well as economic changes,” Nissan Chief Executive Makoto Uchida told an online earnings call.
“If we look at the immediate challenges today, there is a big impact from business risks like semiconductor and commodity price hikes... so at this point in time, we are foreseeing operating profit coming out even,” he added.
The company said its annual operating loss in the year ended Mar. 31 ballooned to JPY150.65 billion ($1.39 billion) from the previous year’s JPY40 billion-yen shortfall.
Nissan will further update its outlook guidance after the first quarter.