TOKYO—Japanese automaker Nissan’s profit plunged in the last quarter to less than half of what it was a year earlier as the COVID-19 lockdown in China and a global semiconductor shortage slammed production.
Nissan Motor Co. reported Thursday that its April–June net profit totaled 47.1 billion yen ($349 million), down from 114.5 billion yen in the same period of 2021. That change marks a 59 percent drop. Quarterly sales rose 6 percent 2.14 trillion yen ($15.9 billion).
Soaring raw material costs also hurt profitability, according to the manufacturer based in the port city of Yokohama.
Nissan posted a profit in the last fiscal year ended in March for the first time in three years….