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Nissan losses hit $5B
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November 22, 1999: 5:52 a.m. ET
Restructuring plan bites at Japanese automaker; Renault shrugs off result
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Nissan Motor posted a $4.95 billion first-half loss Monday and predicted that full-year losses would top $5 billion as Japan's number two automaker struggles to slash costs.
However Nissan's chief operating officer Carlos Ghosn, the troubleshooter brought in by partner Renault, predicted that the company would "end the year with a bang" as it accelerates the pace of restructuring.
Renault paid $5.4 billion for a 36.8 percent stake in the troubled company in March and has pushed through a drastic restructuring plan involving the closure of five manufacturing plants and the loss of 21,000 jobs.
In its first results since the Renault deal, Nissan posted a parent company net loss of 524 billion yen ($4.95 billion) for the six months ended September. It forecast a 590 billion yen net loss for the year ending next March.
Nissan said the bulk of the first-half result reflected restructuring charges. It aims to break even in the year ending in March 2001.
Renault said the result would have no additional impact on its own earnings. It is already taking a 1.95 billion French franc ($306 million) charge for the current financial year.
Nissan also forecast that domestic auto sales would dip 5.3 percent next year, and it plans to cut its own production by 10.3 percent.
Nissan released its results after the close of the Tokyo stock market, where its shares fell 5.7 percent to 550 yen. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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Nissan Motor
Renault
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