Nissan's profit drops amid former chair Ghosn's arrest

Nissan said on Tuesday that its third-quarter profit plunged to about a quarter of the previous year's, partly due to special charges related to alleged false financial reporting by its former chairman, Carlos Ghosn.

The main factor behind the sharp weakening in profit, however, was the absence of a lift from US tax reforms that sharply boosted Nissan Motor Co.'s earnings in late 2017.

The maker of the Leaf electric vehicle, X-Trail sport utility vehicle and Infiniti luxury models cut its profit forecast for the fiscal year through March to $3.7 billion, down 45 percent on-year. 

The previous projection was for a 4.5 billion profit.

The company said the main reason for the downgrade was faltering sales in China and the US.

Nissan Motor Co.'s profit in the October-December quarter was $637 million, down from $2.7 billion the previous year. Quarterly sales grew 6 percent to $27.5 billion.

The company said it logged costs about $83 million related to the alleged false under-reporting of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn's compensation.

Case against Ghosn

Ghosn has been detained without bail since November 19. 

Besides falsifying financial reports, he has been charged with a breach of trust related to his handling of investment losses and payments to a Saudi businessman. 

Ghosn has said the payments were for legitimate services and Nissan didn't suffer losses.

He has said he is innocent of any wrongdoing and is the target of a conspiracy to oust him from the company he helped turn around when it was on the brink of bankruptcy 20 years ago.

Nissan's Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa told reporters on Tuesday that whether the company will pay Ghosn the under-reported compensation has not yet been decided. 

Ghosn has said the compensation was never paid or decided upon.

Saikawa said Jean-Dominique Senard, who recently replaced Ghosn as chairman of Nissan's alliance partner Renault SA of France, will visit Japan later this week for meetings.

"It is practically our first meeting," he said, declining to detail the agenda. "We want to build mutual trust and good communication."

Merger?

Renault owns 43 percent of Nissan, and Nissan owns 15 percent of Renault. There is the talk of merging the two automakers under one holding company.

Saikawa, who recently visited Senard in France, said the two sides basicly agree they want to strengthen their alliance as a "win-win," but no changes to its structure have been decided on.

Asked about his own role in the alleged wrongdoing Nissan accuses Ghosn of concocting, Saikawa said he and many other executives were in shock.

"We are filled with regret about how we didn't see it and how we couldn't stop it," he said.