Nissan reported Thursday that its October-December profit rose 3.5 per cent from last year as vehicle sales climbed in all major markets.
The company also said it is pressing ahead with plans for a new plant in Mexico, despite the US president Donald Trump rapping rival Toyota over a factory in the Latin American country.
Nissan and Daimler broke ground in 2015 on the facility in Aguascalientes in central Mexico, saying they would invest about US$1 billion on a factory that would make vehicles for their luxury Infiniti and Mercedes-Benz brands.
Nissan said the plant is on track to start producing vehicles this year.
The car maker has several other production plants in Mexico, where it makes more than 800,000 vehicles annually.
“As of today we are on track, in line with the schedule and by the end of the fiscal year our new Infiniti cars will be produced there,” the Nissan vice president Joji Tagawa said on Thursday, referring to the new plant.
The comments came as Nisshinbo, another top Japanese firm, said it has dropped Mexico as a possible location for its new auto parts factory, citing Mr Trump’s protectionist outbursts.
Nissan, based in the Japanese port city of Yokohama, reported a fiscal third quarter profit of ¥131.7 billion (Dh4.4bn), up from ¥127.2bn the same period a year ago.
Nissan, which makes the Patrol 4x4 – long a favourite in the UAE – the March subcompact, Leaf electric car, sold more vehicles in Japan, North America, Europe and Asia for the quarter compared with the previous year.
The company sold 1.09 million vehicles worldwide during the quarter, up from 1.02 million.
Quarterly sales slipped 2.2 per cent to ¥2.94 trillion. The car maker kept its annual forecasts unchanged, projecting ¥525bn profit, up slightly from the previous fiscal year, on ¥11.8tn sales, down 3.2 per cent.
Nissan also announced financial results for the nine-month period to December 31.
“In the first nine months of the fiscal year, Nissan generated an operating profit of ¥503.2bn, which represents a 6.1 per cent margin on net revenues of ¥8.26tn,” said Carlos Ghosn, the chief executive. “Although these results reflect continued currency headwinds, we remain confident of achieving our fiscal year guidance.”
However, outside of its major markets such as the US, Europe Russia and China, the company fared less well. In regions including Asia and Oceania, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, Nissan’s sales decreased 3.9 per cent to 596,000 units.
“On a constant currency basis, operating profit rose 30.1 per cent to ¥764.6bn, equivalent to an 8.1 per cent profit margin. Our underlying performance was enhanced by solid product demand in the US, China and western Europe, along with the continued benefits of our strict cost controls and synergies from our Alliance strategy.”
“We expect to deliver solid earnings and strong free cash flow generation for fiscal year 2016,” said Mr Ghosn.
Nissan also stuck to its earlier expectation to sell 5.6 million vehicles for the fiscal year ending March 31, up 3 per cent from the previous year.
Nissan, which is allied with Renault of France, has become the top shareholder in scandal-plagued Japanese rival Mitsubishi Motors, which was found cheating on mileage tests to inflate fuel economy figures for its minicar models.
Nissan can hope to leverage Mitsubishi’s strengths in markets such as South East Asia.
* Agenciess
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UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – UAE won by 36 runs
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Reading List
Practitioners of mindful eating recommend the following books to get you started:
Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr Lilian Cheung
How to Eat by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Mindful Diet by Dr Ruth Wolever
Mindful Eating by Dr Jan Bays
How to Raise a Mindful Eaterby Maryann Jacobsen
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
