Level 1 — Absolute Beginner
Nissan is a big car company from Japan. For a long time, it lost a lot of money.
Now there is some good news. In the last six months, Nissan made a profit from selling cars. One year ago, it had a loss.
How did it do this? Nissan cut its costs. It spent less money to make its cars. Sales in America were also good.
But there is bad news too. Nissan sold fewer cars in China. So the company now thinks it will sell fewer cars this year than it hoped.
- company
- A business that makes or sells things.
- lost
- Did not keep something. Here: had less money than before.
- profit
- Money a business has left after it pays its bills.
- loss
- When a business spends more money than it gets.
- costs
- The money you must pay to make or do something.
- spent
- Used money to pay for something.
- sales
- The number of things a business sells.
- fewer
- A smaller number of.
Level 2 — Elementary
Nissan, the Japanese carmaker, reported its results for the first half of its business year on Wednesday. The numbers showed that its long recovery plan is starting to work.
From April to September, Nissan made an operating profit of 80 billion yen. In the same months last year, it had an operating loss of almost 28 billion yen. Revenue grew by about 9 percent to more than 6 trillion yen.
The main reason was lower costs. A plan called Re:Nissan saved the company about 110 billion yen in six months. The chief executive, Ivan Espinosa, said he sees encouraging progress in important markets, especially the United States.
Not everything is better. Nissan still had a net loss of nearly 40 billion yen, partly because it pays more interest on its debt. Sales in China fell by 15 percent, so Nissan lowered its forecast for the cars it will sell this year.
- carmaker
- A company that builds cars.
- results
- A report that shows how much money a company made or lost.
- recovery
- Getting better after a bad time.
- operating profit
- The money a company earns from its normal business, before interest and tax.
- revenue
- All the money a company receives from selling things.
- chief executive
- The person who leads a company.
- debt
- Money that you have borrowed and must pay back.
- forecast
- A statement about what will probably happen in the future.
Level 3 — Intermediate
Nissan Motor swung back to an operating profit in the first half of its financial year, the Japanese carmaker said on Wednesday, 11 November, offering the clearest sign so far that its restructuring is taking hold. For the six months to 30 September it earned 80 billion yen at the operating level, compared with a loss of roughly 27.7 billion yen a year earlier.
Revenue rose 8.8 percent to 6.07 trillion yen, helped by favourable exchange rates and firmer pricing. The larger driver, however, was cost cutting. The Re:Nissan programme, which has closed factories and reduced the workforce, delivered about 110 billion yen in savings over the period. Chief executive Ivan Espinosa pointed to encouraging momentum in key markets, above all the United States.
The bottom line is still red. Nissan posted a net loss of 39.7 billion yen, far smaller than the 221.9 billion yen it lost a year ago, because higher interest payments absorbed much of the operating gain. The company kept its target of 200 billion yen in operating profit for the full year, which implies a stronger second half.
China remains the weak spot. Sales there dropped 15 percent as local brands and electric vehicles took customers away faster than Nissan expected, and that decline outweighed gains in North America and Japan. The company cut its global sales forecast to about 3 million vehicles from 3.15 million. Investors were cautious, and one report said the shares slipped about 1.5 percent on the day.
- restructuring
- Changing how a company is organized so that it works better.
- exchange rates
- The values of currencies compared with one another.
- cost cutting
- Reducing the money a company spends.
- workforce
- All the people who work for a company.
- momentum
- Progress that keeps building.
- net loss
- The amount a company loses after all costs, interest and tax.
- outweighed
- Was greater or more important than something else.
- cautious
- Careful and not willing to take risks.
Level 4 — Advanced
Nissan Motor returned to the black at the operating level in the first half of its fiscal year, a milestone for a company that has spent the past two years in crisis. The Yokohama-based carmaker said on Wednesday that it earned 80 billion yen in the six months to 30 September, a swing of 107.7 billion yen from the loss it recorded in the same period of 2025.
The recovery owes less to a resurgence in demand than to austerity. Revenue climbed 8.8 percent to 6.07 trillion yen, flattered by favourable exchange rates and firmer pricing, but the decisive contribution came from Re:Nissan, the retrenchment plan under which chief executive Ivan Espinosa has shuttered plants and shed jobs. Those measures yielded roughly 110 billion yen of savings in six months. Mr Espinosa spoke of encouraging momentum, singling out the United States.
Below the operating line the picture is less flattering. Rising interest expenses on Nissan's heavy borrowings consumed much of the improvement, leaving a net loss of 39.7 billion yen, albeit a fraction of the 221.9 billion yen shortfall of a year earlier. Management reaffirmed its full-year operating profit goal of 200 billion yen, a target that requires 120 billion yen in the second half, half as much again as the first.
The most stubborn problem lies in China, once a pillar of Nissan's earnings. Sales there fell 15 percent as domestic manufacturers of electric and hybrid cars eroded the market share of foreign brands more quickly than the company had forecast. Nissan trimmed its global volume outlook to between 2.97 million and 3 million vehicles, down from 3.15 million. The contrast is instructive: a carmaker can cut its way back to profit, but it cannot cut its way back to growth, and the shares edged lower.
- milestone
- An important point in the progress of something.
- resurgence
- A strong return after a period of weakness.
- austerity
- Strict reduction of spending.
- retrenchment
- Cutting costs, staff and activities in order to survive.
- shuttered
- Closed down permanently.
- borrowings
- Money that a company owes to lenders.
- reaffirmed
- Stated again that something has not changed.
- eroded
- Gradually reduced or destroyed.
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