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Non-Tech : Nissan Motors (NSANY) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: EPS who wrote (67)	6/12/1998 6:42:00 AM
From: EPS	Respond to of 124

Nikko Research Sees Japanese Auto Stocks As Good Buy If Yen Weakens Dow Jones Online News, Wednesday, June 10, 1998 at 08:46 TOKYO -(Dow Jones)- Nikko Research Center Ltd., an arm of Nikko Securities Co., said Wednesday it would recommend buying the Japanese automobile sector if the dollar strengthens to 150 yen. The yen closed trading at 140.22 to the dollar Tuesday in New York. Noriyuki Matsusima, senior analyst at NRC, said Honda Motor Co. (HMC) and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., in particular, would benefit the most because of their growing sales in North America. Toyota Motor Corp. (TOYOY) remains heavily dependent on sales in the domestic market and therefore isn't seen profiting as much. However, in the medium-to-long term, it should benefit from its globalization efforts. While Nissan Motor Co. (NSANY) and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. would also benefit from a weaker yen, their efforts to export will be held back by high inventory levels in North America. Despite a weaker yen, Japanese auto makers will still be faced with problems at home and in the rest of Asia. Matsusima said he expects domestic auto demand to remain sluggish throughout the year despite the industry's hopes for a recovery in the second half when the effects of the government's 16.65 trillion yen ($118.7 billion) economic stimulus package are expected to kick in. Nikko Research is expecting domestic sales for the sector to fall 7.7% in the fiscal year ending March 31, 1999. In the last fiscal year, sales fell 15% to 4.75 million vehicles. Matsusima said the outlook is particularly bleak for truck makers. A reduction in disposable income as a result of the worsening business conditions at Japanese companies, as well as rising unemployment, are going to continue to hurt consumer demand, he said. At the same time, the radical changes in the Japanese financial system will also weigh on sentiment, he said. Matsusima noted that Nissan and Mazda managed to post higher sales in May. He attributed the increases mainly to their sales of cheaper models, such as Nissan's Cube and Mazda's Demio. Both are recreational compact wagons. Nissan's sales in May rose 3.5% and Mazda's edged up 0.1%. Overall sales for the sector in May fell 8% to 294,211 vehicles. Matsusima said a boom in more expensive recreational vehicles supported domestic auto sales after Japan's economic bubble burst in the early 1990s, and sedans lost popularity. However, growth in these more expensive recreational vehicles is now beginning to slow as consumers turn to cheaper vehicles amid the slowdown in the economy. "That's an obvious result," said Matsusima, who added that implementing cost reductions will become even more important for auto makers. The sluggish domestic situation and the current global restructuring in the industry with the proposed merger of Daimler Benz AG and Chrysler Corp. (C), has made it imperative for auto makers like Nissan and Mitsubishi, who have weak financial bases, to tie up with other auto makers to survive, Matsusima said. Toyota's plans to make Hino and Daihatsu its subsidiaries may be part of its efforts to become an even greater company, said Matsusima. "It wouldn't be strange" if one day Toyota even tied up with rival Nissan, he said. Copyright (c) 1998 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

To: EPS who wrote (67)	6/12/1998 6:45:00 AM
From: EPS	Respond to of 124

Nissan To Cut Export Prices On Cars, Parts Amid Weakness In Yen Dow Jones Online News, Tuesday, June 09, 1998 at 10:58 TOKYO -(Dow Jones)- Nissan Motor Co. has lowered its free-on-board export prices, denominated in overseas currencies, on autos and auto parts by 3% to 4% on average, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported in its Wednesday morning edition, citing company sources. The company is seeking to take advantage of the continuing weakness of the yen against the U.S. dollar and European currencies, the newspaper said. The new prices will mean lower purchase costs for Nissan's overseas units and, Nissan hopes, increased price competitiveness and operating strength. In the current fiscal year through March 1999, Nissan (NSANY) plans to export 670,000 vehicles, a 5.8% decline from last fiscal year. Exports to North America are denominated in dollars, while shipments to Europe are denominated in Deutsche marks. The yen's average exchange rate in fiscal 1998 is expected to be 128 yen to the dollar and 72 yen to the mark, compared with 120 yen to the dollar and 69 yen to the mark last year. Each one-yen depreciation of the Japanese currency against the dollar translates into 5.5 billion yen (about $25.57 billion) in extra annual profit for Nissan. Although the profitability of parts imports is sliding, Nissan calculates it can realize 40 billion yen in profit from foreign-exchange gains in the current year if it doesn't lower export prices. The car maker plans to halve its potential foreign-exchange profit and use it to help boost the profits of its overseas sales units. Copyright (c) 1998 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

To: EPS who wrote (67)	6/12/1998 6:47:00 AM
From: EPS	Respond to of 124

Nissan Motor Denies Report Capital Unit Had Big Derivatives Loss Dow Jones Online News, Wednesday, June 10, 1998 at 05:19 TOKYO -(Dow Jones)- Nissan Motor Co. on Wednesday denied a report in the monthly magazine "Sentaku" that one of the auto maker's units suffered a huge derivatives loss. The edition of the magazine that went on sale June 1 reported that Nissan Capital America had a massive derivatives loss in the Southeast Asian emerging markets, beginning with the large drop in the Indonesian rupiah. Sentaku reported that this may have been why Nissan's (NSANY) group earnings were in the red in the fiscal year ended March 31, even though the rival Toyota Motor Corp. (TOYOY) and Honda Motor Co. (HMC) each posted record group earnings due to the weaker yen. Nissan Motor said Nissan Capital America is a fund-raising subsidiary that only uses derivatives to hedge risks. Nissan said it has confirmed with its accountants that based on U.S. accounting standards, Nissan Capital America didn't have a derivative loss as described in the Sentaku article. Nissan Motor said it regularly inspects the trading of its subsidiaries and also regularly reports to the board of directors the outstanding amount of the company's derivatives trading. On June 1 Nissan's shares fell amid rumors the company had a huge derivative-related loss. At that time a Nissan spokesman denied the rumor as "baseless." Copyright (c) 1998 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.