(Bloomberg) -- A gauge of Nissan Motor Co.’s debt-default risk jumped, as the Japanese automaker’s reduction of its payroll, production and profit forecasts prompted ratings firms to review their debt scores.
The cost to insure Nissan’s bonds against nonpayment was indicated around the highest level since March 2023 according to a credit-default swap trader. Japan Credit Rating Agency Ltd. put the carmaker’s ‘A’ rating on monitor for possible downgrade, saying it will study the business and financial impact of its restructuring plans.
Pressure will mount on Nissan’s creditworthiness if performance shows no signs of improvement in around the next six months, S&P Global Ratings separately reported.
Credit markets are signaling mounting concerns about the financial health of Nissan, one of Japan’s biggest automakers. The company is struggling to cope with tougher car industry conditions and address internal weaknesses, announcing plans to dismiss 9,000 workers and cut a fifth of its manufacturing capacity. Nissan’s share price plunged 6.1% on Friday, the most since early August, as the company said net income plummeted 94% in the first half.
Nissan’s credit-default swap prices were indicated at 180 basis points on Friday morning, a CDS trader said. If the contracts trade at that level that would mark a further increase since Thursday, when the swaps soared to 178 basis points, the highest since March 2023, CMA data show. The carmaker’s CDS overtook Sharp Corp.’s contracts last month to become Japan’s fourth highest, according to the data.
Mizuho Securities Co. lowered its credit outlook for Nissan to “slightly negative” from “stable,” analyst Kengo Koetaka wrote in a report. He cited expectations that the profitability of Nissan’s automotive business will decline from the current fiscal year to the following year ending March 2026 due to the deterioration of the business environment in the US and the company recording one-off expenses associated with its turnaround.
Nissan has the lowest investment grade from Moody’s and Fitch and a junk rating of BB+ from S&P. Local rating firms Rating & Investment and Japan Credit Rating Agency both give it an A score, the sixth-highest level.
The automaker’s unit Nissan Financial Services Co. has a ¥40 billion ($263 million) bond due on Dec. 20, Bloomberg-compiled data show.
Nissan’s free cash flow from its automotive division tumbled to a deficit of over ¥440 billion in the April-September period due to a decline in earnings and an increased investment burden, S&P said in a report.
S&P said it believes that “pressure on the rating will intensify if the automaker fails to stabilize earnings promptly and maintain free cash flow in the black.” The company will also have a significant investment burden to develop next-generation technologies such as electric vehicles and autonomous driving in the coming years,” the rating firm said.
(Adds analysis from credit rating firms)
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