By Kiyoshi Takenaka
TOKYO (Reuters) -Japanese electric motor maker Nidec reported a larger-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday and forecast a record annual operating profit, although it warned of uncertainty in the global economic outlook due to new U.S. tariffs.
The Kyoto-based company predicted an operating profit of 260 billion yen ($1.82 billion) for the current business year to March 2026, up from an actual profit of 240.2 billion yen in the one just ended.
Nidec is one of the first major Japanese exporters of high technology products that have unveiled their earnings outlook after U.S. President Donald Trump upended the global trading system with a wave of new tariffs.
“For our company, which operates globally, there is a possibility that U.S. tariff policies and other external factors may impact our business, operating results, and financial position,” Nidec said in a statement.
Despite the adverse business environment Nidec aims to improve its profitability by taking such steps as restructuring and reducing its workforce, boosting operating profit further to 350 billion yen by the year ending March 2028, the company said.
Nidec has sought to tap a growing share of the battery-powered vehicle market globally through developing and making an e-axle traction motor that combines an electric vehicle’s gear, motor and power-control electronics.
For the three months that ended March 31, it posted an operating profit of 65.4 billion yen, up from an operating loss of 5.2 billion yen a year earlier, when its profitability was hit by the costs of restructuring steps taken to deal with fierce price competition in China’s EV market.
The quarterly result beat analysts’ average estimate of a 62.4 billion yen profit, according to data compiled by LSEG.
($1 = 142.8300 yen)
(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Michael Perry)
