TOKYO -- Nissan reported a record annual loss on Tuesday as the coronavirus pandemic hit vehicle sales and a global shortage of semiconductors forced the automaker to cut production.
Nissan said in a statement that its annual operating loss widened in the year ended March 31 to 150.65 billion yen ($1.38 billion) from a 40 billion yen shortfall in the previous year. The automaker has not made a profit since the year ending March 2019.
However, the company beat its February forecast of a 205 billion yen loss because of a sales recovery in China and cost cutting.
The global auto industry has been grappling with a chip shortage since the end of last year, exacerbated in recent months by a fire at a chip plant in Japan and blackouts in Texas, where a number of chipmakers have factories.
Nissan, which is pulling back from the global expansion pursued by ousted Chairman Carlos Ghosn, had to cut production of its best-selling Note compact car in Japan and make short-term output adjustments at its North American operations last quarter due to the chip shortage.
For the new fiscal year that started on April 1, the automaker said it expects to break even.
