TOKYO (AFP) – Nissan tumbled more than 10 per cent yesterday after the Japanese automaker issued a profit warning, citing “intense sales competition”, especially in the United States (US).
The company and its domestic rivals are also struggling to stand their ground in China’s market as fast-growing electric vehicle firms backed by Beijing race ahead.
Net profit in the first quarter plunged 73 per cent year-on-year to JPY28.6 billion (USD190 million), Nissan said – far below analyst expectations of JPY97.1 billion.
The auto giant now predicts a full-year net profit of JPY300 billion (USD2 billion), down from JPY380 billion previously forecast.
“Our first-quarter results were very challenging” and “we have implemented measures to recover our performance”, Chief Executive Officer Makoto Uchida said in a statement.
“From the second half we aim to maximise sales of new and refreshed models to achieve the revised forecast of sales volume and profit,” he added.
Although global sales remained even, “profit was impacted by increased sales incentives and marketing expenses to meet intense sales competition and optimise inventory,” particularly in the US, Nissan said.
File photo shows a man walking past the head office of Japanese automaker Nissan Motor in Yokohama, suburban Tokyo. PHOTO: AFP
The disappointing first-quarter earnings come after the company nearly doubled full-year net profit in 2023-24, partly thanks to the weak yen inflating its takings.
Yesterday, Nissan shares tanked 11 per cent right after the earnings release but recovered to close down 6.98 per cent.
In China, competition also “remained intense”, but Nissan performed well among international brands, chief financial officer Stephen Ma said.
Uchida said at a Financial Times summit in May that Nissan would work with Chinese firms to launch five new electric or hybrid vehicles in the country within the next two years, calling operating in the market there “a survival game”.
Nissan recently ceased production at a factory west of Shanghai as part of efforts to cut production capacity.
A company spokesman confirming the move said Nissan was “committed to China under the strategy of ‘in China, for China’ with a focus on new energy vehicle (NEV) transformation, corporate value, and overall competitiveness in the Chinese market”.
The plant in Changzhou was a joint venture with state-owned Chinese auto company Dongfeng Motor.
It had an annual capacity of 130,000 vehicles – eight per cent of Nissan and Dongfeng’s total capacity in China – and only opened in 2020, according to Japanese media.
Japan’s Honda is also struggling with sales in China and plans to reduce its annual car output capacity there by 50,000 units, Kyodo News reported yesterday.
China overtook Japan as the world’s biggest vehicle exporter last year, helped by its global dominance in electric cars as firms such as BYD speed ahead of international rivals.
PUTRAJAYA (BERNAMA) – The Malaysian government has surpassed the bankruptcy release target with a total of 142,510 cases through the Second Chance Policy, compared to the initial target of 130,000 cases, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said.
He said this policy is one of the initiatives under the Prinsip Rukun Ihsan (Principle of Compassion) to implement of the law to the people in need.
“Sometimes these bankruptcies are due to economic situations, as in the case of COVID-19 where the level of the economy affects their economic conditions… there are also mistakes made by them, especially the traders.
“But our responsibility is to stimulate the economy and also give them opportunities. This is our initial step to make Malaysia a competitive and developed country,” he said in the opening speech of the 100-year and New Direction celebration of the Malaysian Department of Insolvency (Mdl) in Putrajaya yesterday.
Also present at the ceremony was Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
The Second Chance Policy was announced by Anwar during the Budget 2024 presentation.
The policy is extended to bankrupts to provide them the opportunity to return to contribute to the national economy and live a new life.
It aims to release as many as 130,000 people who were declared bankrupt up to a period of one year after Act A 1695 came into force.
“Those (in the Mdl organisation) should continue reforms and lay the foundations of MADANI as one of the pillars of kindness. We can extend compassion or consideration and are ready to forgive and also give space to the people.
“So that’s why in this MADANI budget we emphasise several measures and I’m proud of the actions taken by the minister and the department to bring about changes including in insolvency amendment.
“Just imagine if in one year this department showed its efficiency in releasing more than 140,000 people from bankruptcy, it means 140,000 families have been rescued,” Anwar said.
Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said at the 100-year and New Direction celebration of the Malaysian Department of Insolvency in Putrajaya. PHOTO: BERNAMA
MARSEILLE (AP) – On a wild opening day for the Olympic men’s football tournament, the United States (US) came within the width of the crossbar from taking the lead against host nation France.
Within moments, Alexandre Lacazette had the ball in the back of the Americans’ net – and when Michael Olise added a second for the French, they were on their way to a 3-0 win.
“It was unfortunate – on another day maybe it goes in,” said Djordje Mihailovic, whose long-range effort came back off the bar when the Group A game in Marseille was still goalless in the second half. “I think most importantly, (we need to) emotionally recover because we were in the game for the first 70 minutes, even after they scored, we responded very well.”
Earlier in the day, Morocco beat Argentina 2-1 in a game that was suspended for about two hours because fans invaded the pitch deep into stoppage time. And the US looked like it could produce another upset when repeatedly opening France up in the first Olympic game for American men since 2008.
“I can’t say anything to the players. They were in the right spot,” US coach Marko Mitrovic said. “I have that feeling inside that we didn’t deserve to lose this way.”
The US never came closer than Mihailovic’s effort, and France made the most of its fortune – responding with stunning strikes from Lacazette in the 61st minute and Olise in the 68th.
Loic Bade added the third with a header in the 85th.
“I knew it was going to be tough. You guys never give up,” France coach Thierry Henry told American reporters afterward. “That fighting spirit is always in you. You always believe that you can come back. I know that. I played and coached in MLS, so I know that’s something that you have.”
France’s Loic Bade celebrates scoring his side’s third goal during the men’s Group A football match against the United States at the Velodrome stadium, Summer Olympics in Marseille, France. PHOTO: APABOVE & BELOW: Spain’s goalkeeper Arnau Tenas punches the ball clear of the goal; Japan’s Shota Fujio celebrates scoring his side’s fifth goal; and Iraq’s Karrar Mohammed during the men’s Group B match against Ukraine. PHOTO: APPHOTO: APPHOTO: AP
It was two moments of quality that ultimately put France in control, with former Arsenal striker Lacazette driving low from around 20 yards past US goalkeeper Patrick Schulte.
New Bayern Munich signing Olise curled a shot from distance into the same corner.
Bade’s header effectively put the game away and saw France move to the top of Group A, ahead of New Zealand, which beat Guinea 2-1.
“There was definitely stuff to make us feel good going into the next two matches,” Mihailovic said.
MOROCCO 2, ARGENTINA 1
Morocco secured an unforgettable win over Argentina – but not before furious fans invaded the pitch to protest what appeared to be an equaliser by Cristian Medina in the 16th-minute of stoppage time.
Objects were thrown onto the field and security had to restrain fans, causing the game in Saint-Etienne to be suspended for nearly two hours and the crowd being told to leave the stadium.
The goal was eventually ruled offside just before play resumed, drawing celebrations from Morocco players as the final minutes concluded.
It was a chaotic and dramatic start to the tournament after Argentina, which won gold medals at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics and is considered among the favorites in France, mounted a comeback after going 2-0 down on goals from Soufiane Rahimi on either side of half-time.
Giuliano Simeone struck in the 68th minute and Argentina peppered Morocco goalkeeper Munir El Kajoui with shots before Medina’s header from close range appeared to tie it.
That caused outrage from Morocco fans, who rushed the field, while others threw trash, and the game was officially put on hold.
Rahimi had put Morocco ahead in first-half stoppage time, then converted on a penalty kick in the 49th, which proved to be the decisive goal against an Argentina team that included four members of the squad that won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
SPAIN 2, UZBEKISTAN 1
Sergio Gomez scored the winning goal in Spain’s victory over Uzbekistan to open Group C.
The match at Parc des Princes in Paris was the first official competition of the Olympics and drew some 35,000 fans.
Marc Pubill scored in the 29th minute for Spain, which won the gold medal at the 1992 Olympics. The team has won silver twice since then, most recently at the Tokyo Games.
Eldor Shomurodov converted on a penalty kick in first-half stoppage time to tie it for Uzbekistan, which was making its first Olympic appearance.
Gomez had a penalty saved by Abduvohid Nematov in the 59th minute, but some three minutes later he scored from about 12 yards out.
NEW ZEALAND 2, GUINEA 1
Ben Waine scored the go-ahead goal and New Zealand won its Group A opener over Guinea in Nice.
New Zealand was awarded a penalty in the 24th minute, but Guinea goalkeeper Soumaila Sylla dove to punch away captain Matthew Garbett’s attempt. New Zealand quickly recovered and Garbett scored a minute later for a 1-0 lead.
Guinea leveled with Amadou Diawara’s goal in the 72nd, but New Zealand answered a minute later through Waine.
New Zealand advanced to the quarterfinals at the Tokyo Games, while Guinea was making its Olympic debut.
EGYPT 0, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 0
Egypt and the Dominican Republic played to a scoreless draw in Group C in Nantes.
Peter Gonzalez’s apparent goal for debutant Dominican Republic early in the match was called back because of a foul in the run-up.
Egypt has been to the Olympics 13 times, the most by an African nation, but has never finished higher than fourth. The team made the quarterfinals at the Tokyo Games.
JAPAN 5, PARAGUAY 0
Shunsuke Mito and Shota Fujio scored two goals each in Japan’s rout of Paraguay in Group D.
Japan took full advantage of Paraguay being reduced to 10 men in Bordeaux when Wilder Vera was sent off in the 25th by scoring four goals in the second half. Vera was shown red following a VAR review of a foul on Yu Hirakawa.
By that point, Mito had already opened the scoring in the 18th. He added a second in the 63rd.
Rihito Yamamoto made it 3-0 six minutes later and Fujio, who came on for Mito in the in the 73rd, rounded off the win with goals in the 81st and 87th.
IRAQ 2, UKRAINE 1
Substitute Ali Jasim came on to seal a comeback win for Iraq against Ukraine in Group B.
Ukraine had led through Valentyn Rubchynskyi’s opener in the 53rd in Lyon, but Iraq was quickly given the chance to level from the penalty spot.
Aymen Hussein converted in the 56th and Ali struck the winner in the 75th.
Iraq is top of the group, level with Morocco on three points.
LILLE (AFP) – Kevin Durant, who missed all five of the USA’s warm-up games with a calf strain, practised on Wednesday upon the team’s arrival in France ahead of the defence of their Olympic basketball title.
The Phoenix Suns star, a former NBA MVP and three-time Olympic gold medallist, suffered the injury in June, but coach Steve Kerr has said there was no thought of replacing Durant on the roster.
“The plan is for him to get in the scrimmage and see how he handles that,” Kerr told reporters in Lille after the team held an hour-long practice session.
“He looked good today and he did everything, he got a lot of shots up and told me he’s feeling pretty good.”
Durant, 35, missed the win over Canada earlier this month as well as the two exhibition games in Abu Dhabi. He was deemed not quite ready to return for the two most recent games in London either.
“It starts with the scrimmage tomorrow and we’ll see what the training staff says after that,” Kerr said of the plan for easing Durant back into action.
The Suns and Durant’s representatives will also be involved in any decision-making, Kerr insisted.
“This is not going to be like us going out and saying, ‘Hey, let’s just throw him out there.’”
Whether or not Durant will feature in Team USA’s tournament opener against Serbia remains unclear, but Kerr can call upon LeBron James who is back at the Olympics for the first time since 2012.
United States basketball players Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant during a press conference in Paris. PHOTO: AFP
LONDON (AFP) – British consumer goods giant Unilever said yesterday that net profit edged up four per cent in the first six months of the year, driven by higher sales.
Profit after tax rose to EUR3.7 billion (USD4 billion) compared with the first half of 2023, the maker of multiple products including Cif surface cleaner, Dove soap and Ben and Jerry’s ice cream said in an earnings statement.
Both volume of sales and prices increased in the first half, Unilever noted.
“There is much to do, but we remain focused on transforming Unilever into a consistently higher performing business,” said group chief executive Hein Schumacher.
The company earlier this year announced plans to create a standalone ice cream business as part of a major overhaul expected to cost about 7,500 mainly office-based jobs worldwide.
The group, which employed about 128,000 people globally at the time of the March announcement, is seeking to save EUR800 million over the next three years.
WELLINGTON (XINHUA) – New Zealand’s small businesses recorded the largest drop in sales in June, but were still attracting staff despite financial strain as jobs and wage growth remain strong, according to a survey yesterday.
Small business sales fell 1.5 per cent year-on-year in the June quarter, experiencing a decline for two consecutive months in May and June, with June’s decline of 8.3 per cent marking the largest monthly fall since May 2020 during the first COVID-19 lockdown, showed the Xero Small Business Insights data.
The decline was an indication that small businesses are facing pressure from New Zealand’s turbulent economy, said Head of Sales Paul Churchman at Xero NZ, a global small business platform.
All industries experienced a sales decline in June, with the largest quarterly declines in hospitality, construction and retail trade, while the real estate industry recorded positive sales growth, Churchman said.
Internationally, New Zealand experienced the largest monthly sales drop in June, more than double Australia’s 3.5-per-cent year-on-year decline, and more than Britain’s 5.2-per-cent drop, the survey showed. However, small business jobs rose 6.7 per cent year-on-year over the June quarter, slightly below the seven per cent rise in the March quarter, it said, adding jobs growth has been gradually slowing for the past 18 months after peaking at nine per cent year-on-year in the March quarter 2023, but remains well above the pre-pandemic average of three per cent year-on-year.
Small business wages grew 3.6 per cent year-on-year in the June quarter, the largest rise since the March quarter 2023, the survey said, adding this acceleration of wage growth suggests small businesses remain eager, and are currently able to pay larger wages to attract talent.
PARIS (AFP) – Grand Slam record-breakers Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were placed on an Olympics second-round collision course in the draw for the Paris Games yesterday.
Nadal, a singles gold medallist at the 2008 Olympics, is playing in his final Games having also won doubles gold in Rio in 2016 while Djokovic was a bronze medallist in singles in 2008.
Djokovic, a 24-time major winner and top seed in Paris following the withdrawal of world number one Jannik Sinner, begins his campaign against Australia’s Matthew Ebden.
Nadal, who has won 14 of his 22 Grand Slams on the clay of Roland Garros, faces Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics in his opener.
French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz, the second seed, faces 275th-ranked Hady Habib of Lebanon.
Also making her last appearance will be Germany’s Angelique Kerber, who announced yesterday that she will retire once the Games end.
The 36-year-old, who won three Grand Slam titles, was a silver medallist in singles at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
In a first-round clash of mothers, Kerber faces four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka of Japan.
Women’s world number one Iga Swiatek, returning to the scene of her fourth French Open title last month, begins against Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu.
Second-ranked US Open champion Coco Gauff, who missed the Tokyo Olympics three years ago with COVID, takes on Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic.
ABOVE & BELOW: Novak Djokovic; and Rafael Nadal. PHOTO: AFPPHOTO: AFP
NEW YORK (AFP) – Boeing will plead guilty to fraud as part of a deal with the United States (US) Department of Justice (DOJ) over two fatal 737 MAX crashes, according to a court filing on Wednesday.
The agreement comes after prosecutors concluded Boeing flouted an earlier settlement addressing the disasters, in which a total of 346 people were killed in Ethiopia and Indonesia more than five years ago.
The plea deal must be approved by a federal court judge and it includes an additional USD243.6 million to be paid by Boeing on top of a previous fine of the same amount.
“We will continue to work transparently with our regulators as we take significant actions across Boeing to further strengthen our safety, quality and compliance programs,” a spokesperson for the aircraft manufacturer told AFP while confirming the court filing.
The high-profile agreement follows the DOJ finding in May that Boeing failed to improve its compliance and ethics programme, in breach of a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) in the wake of the MAX crashes.
Boeing violated the DPA “by failing to sufficiently design, implement, and enforce a compliance and ethics programme to prevent and detect violations of US fraud laws throughout its operations”, prosecutor said in court documents.
Boeing conspired to defraud US air traffic safety regulators about the Max 737 while the aircraft was being certified, according to the filing.
Boeing admitted in April 2019 that anti-stall flight software was partly to blame in the crashes.
Terms of the plea deal call for Boeing to serve three years of “organisational probation”, conditions of which include having an independent monitor and investing at least USD455 million on compliance, quality and safety programmes, according to the filing.
ABOVE & BELOW: A Boeing logo on a stand at the Farnborough International Airshow 2024, southwest of London, England; and a file photo shows families and friends who lost loved ones in the Boeing 737 Max crash in Ethiopia, holding a memorial protest in front of the Boeing headquarters in Virginia, United States. PHOTO: AFPPHOTO: AFP
PARIS (AFP) – Andy Murray withdrew from the tennis singles at the Paris Olympics yesterday but the two-time gold medallist will play doubles in what will be the final event of his glittering career.
The British former world number one, who will retire at the end of his fifth Games, has still not fully recovered from back surgery last month.
He believes the men’s doubles, where he is playing with Dan Evans, offers his best chance of another medal.
“I’ve taken the decision to withdraw from the singles to concentrate on the doubles with Dan,” said the 37-year-old.
“Our practice has been great and we’re playing well together. Really looking forward to getting started and representing Britain one more time.”
Murray won gold in singles at London 2012 and in Rio four years later, as well as silver in mixed doubles with Laura Robson in 2012.
His withdrawal means his final singles match was his brief second-round appearance at Queen’s Club against Jordan Thompson last month before he was forced to pull out because of a spinal cyst.
Andy Murray. PHOTO: AP
The Scot confirmed on Tuesday that he would retire after the Paris Olympics.
“Competing for Great Britain has been by far the most memorable weeks of my career and I’m extremely proud to get to do it one final time,” the three-time Grand Slam champion posted on social media.
Murray has been ravaged by injuries in recent years, slumping to 121st in the world.
He has played with a metal hip since 2019 and suffered ankle damage earlier this year.
Murray was not fit enough to play singles at Wimbledon this month due to his back surgery but played doubles with brother Jamie and was defeated in the first round before an emotional tribute arranged by tournament chiefs.
“It’s hard because I would love to keep playing, but I can’t,” admitted Murray at the All England Club.
“Physically it is too tough now, all of the injuries, they have added up and they haven’t been insignificant.”
Murray ended Britain’s 77-year wait for a men’s champion at Wimbledon when he triumphed in 2013, defeating rival Novak Djokovic in the final.
He added a second title in 2016, taking his career majors total to three after breaking his duck at the 2012 US Open.
Murray won gold at the 2012 Olympics on an emotional day at the All England Club when he defeated Roger Federer just weeks after he had lost the Wimbledon final to the Swiss on the same Centre Court.
Four years later, he defeated Juan Martin del Potro to become the first tennis player, male or female, to win two Olympic singles golds.
Murray also led Britain to the Davis Cup title in 2015, the country’s first in 79 years. He has won 46 titles in all and banked around USD65 million in prize money.
KANNAPOLIS (AP) – Frenchman Esteban Ocon will drive for Haas from next season as a replacement for Kevin Magnussen, the American Formula 1 (F1) team said yesterday.
Details of the deal were not announced, with Haas only saying that the 27-year-old driver committed to a “multi-year contract starting with the 2025 FIA F1 World Championship”.
Ocon, the only driver to win a race for Alpine since it rebranded from Renault at the end of 2020, has picked up just three points this season and had already announced he was leaving the French-owned team.
His Alpine contract is expiring at the end of the season.
Ocon made his F1 debut in 2016 with Manor and joined the then-Renault team for 2020.
His sole career win came at the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2021 for Alpine after a crash in wet conditions took out much of the field.
“I am thrilled to embark on this new chapter in my F1 career,” Ocon said. “I’ll be joining a very ambitious racing team, whose spirit, work ethic, and undeniable upward trajectory has really impressed me.”
Haas announced last week that Magnussen would leave Haas at the end of the season when his contract expires.
On the eve of the Belgian Grand Prix, team principal Ayao Komatsu said Ocon will bring crucial experience to the team after 19-year-old Oliver Bearman also joined. The British driver will take the seat vacated by German driver Nico Hulkenberg, who is joining Sauber at the end of the year ahead of its rebranding to Audi for 2026.
“I think we have a hungry, dynamic driver pairing,” Komatsu said.
Alpine driver Esteban Ocon steers his car at the Hungaroring racetrack in Mogyorod, Hungary. PHOTO: AP
