Nissan profit hit by strong yen, higher materials, R&D costs

TOKYO — Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co.’s profit fell 32 per cent in the last quarter from a year earlier as a strong yen, rising raw materials costs and research expenses bit into earnings.

The company said Monday that its January-March profit was 168.8 billion yen ($1.5 billion), down from 249 billion yen last year. Quarterly sales fell 0.9 per cent to 3.4 trillion yen ($31.3 billion).

Nissan said some losses for the fiscal year through March, such as costs from production halts in Japan due to illegal inspections that surfaced last year, have now ended.

Results also were hit by class-action lawsuits in the U.S. over defective air bags made by supplier Takata Corp.

But Nissan said full-year profit rose 12.6 per cent to 746.9 billion yen ($6.8 billion), helped by U.S. tax reforms.