Japanese car maker Nissan today announced the hard-earned fruits of a painful overhaul as it posted its first annual profit since 1997.
Nissan registered record net earnings of $2.8 billionin the year to March, compared to a huge loss in the previous fiscal year of $5.5 billion.
"Never in 10 years has the operating performance been so good," a triumphant Nissan president Mr Carlos Ghosn told a news conference.
"It's the best result in the company's records as far as we can trace," said Mr Ghosn, who has been driving a restructuring at Japan's second-biggest car maker since it fell under the control of France's Renault SA in May 1999.
"The restructuring has led to significant achievements," the Brazilian-born former Renault executive said. "This is only the first step in the right direction," Mr Ghosn vowed.
But Nissan's sales in Japan continued to retreat, falling 3.6 per cent during the fiscal year.
The return to profit came after Mr Ghosn launched his hard-hitting restructuring plan in October 1999, involving shedding 21,000 jobs and shutting five plants in Japan.
AFP