Japanese automaker Nissan says losses deepened in the last quarter

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Japanese automaker Nissan says losses deepened in the last quarter

2026-02-12 17:35 Last Updated At：17:50

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese automaker Nissan reported deeper losses for the latest quarter through December compared to a year earlier, as restructuring costs cut into its profitability.

Nissan Motor Corp., based in the port city of Yokohama, said Thursday it posted a 28.3 billion yen ($185 million) loss for the October-December quarter, about twice the 14 billion yen loss it recorded a year earlier.

Quarterly sales slipped 6% to nearly 3 trillion yen ($19.6 billion) from 3.2 trillion yen the year before.

“Unfortunately, when you do restructuring, there are costs that are incurred,” Chief Executive Ivan Espinosa told reporters. “In a way, it is expected.”

He said Nissan was on the right track but acknowledged headwinds from President Donald Trump’s tariffs and other pressures on sales.

Nissan, which makes the Leaf electric car and Infiniti luxury models, is hoping to achieve an operating profit by the end of fiscal 2026. It expects an operating loss for the current fiscal year and is projecting a 650 billion yen ($4.2 billion) net loss for the year through March.

A Mexican with two decades of experience at Nissan, Espinosa has been trying to steer a turnaround at the money-losing automaker since he took the job last year.

Nissan has slashed jobs and sold its headquarters building. It is closing its flagship factory in Oppama, Japan, as part of its global production restructuring efforts.

Some analysts say the popularity of electric vehicles is subsiding, and that might hurt automakers like Nissan, which has been bullish on EVs.

Espinosa said Nissan needs to do more to win over consumers to EVs, including new kinds of batteries, but was optimistic about the new Leaf model.

Nissan stocks, which have slipped over the past year, gained 0.5% on Thursday.

Nissan has a partnership with French automaker Renault and smaller domestic automaker Mitsubishi Motors Corp.

Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama

Race day arrives for Ukraine's Vladyslav Heraskevych, who says he'll use banned helmet

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — The Olympic men's skeleton race begins Thursday, and all eyes at the start will be on Ukraine's Vladyslav Heraskevych.

Will he or won't he?

It's the biggest question in sliding at the Milan Cortina Games.

Heraskevych plans to wear his banned helmet — a tribute to Ukrainian athletes and coaches killed during the war with Russia — in the race, despite the International Olympic Committee saying it violates its rules on political statements and isn't appropriate for competition.

If Heraskevych races with the helmet, he risks sanctions that could go as far as disqualification from the Olympics. And that would put the IOC in a difficult spot, because kicking an athlete out of the Games for paying tribute to those killed in a war would draw tons of criticism.

The IOC has sided with Heraskevych before. When he displayed a “No war in Ukraine” sign after his fourth and final run at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, the IOC said he was simply calling for peace and did not find him in violation of the Olympic charter.

“We want him to compete. We really, really want him to have his moment,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said Wednesday. “That’s very, very important. We want all athletes to have their moment and that’s the point. We want all our athletes to have a fair and level playing field.”

The first two runs of the race are Thursday, with the final two runs on Friday night. Heraskevych is a legitimate medal hopeful, and he's evidently willing to risk his chance at a medal for his tribute to those he considers heroes.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics