Nissan Annual Report 20042
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT AND CEO
A public company has two key responsibilities to its
shareholders: transparency and value creation.
At Nissan, transparency is essential to our business.
Especially in uncertain times, it builds trust between a
company and its shareholders. And we believe
transparency is the best way to encourage long-term
investment in our company.
But transparency is not yet universal. Nissan is still one
of the few large corporations that publicly disclose future
business plans, performance indicators, commitments and
future dividends. We trust that these measures give
shareholders a clear view of our company’s future direction.
From the start of the Nissan Revival Plan (NRP) in
1999, we have created value by focusing on key value
drivers—particularly sales growth, operating profit margin,
and return on invested capital. 
By the end of fiscal 2001 we exceeded our NRP
commitments by returning Nissan to profit one year ahead
of schedule, halving the company’s debt and over-delivering
on our commitment to achieve a 4.5 percent operating
profit margin.
Following NRP, we launched a three-year business
plan called NISSAN 180. By the end of the plan in fiscal
2004, we committed to achieve the following:
• An increase in global sales of 1 million units,
compared to the start of the plan. We are confident of
meeting this final commitment by the end of the
measurement period in September 2005.
• An 8 percent operating profit margin. For every year
of the NISSAN 180 plan our operating margin has
been at or above 10 percent topping the performance
of all global automakers.
• Zero net automotive debt. We now have more than
¥200 billion in net cash under the new and more
demanding accounting standards.
Review of 2004
Nissan lived up to its challenges in fiscal 2004, despite a
very challenging year in the global industry, full of risks
both anticipated and unexpected.
Consolidated net revenues reached ¥8 trillion 576.3
billion, up 15.4 percent from last year. Consolidated
operating profit improved by 4.4 percent to a record ¥861.2
billion. As a percentage of net revenue, our operating profit
margin came to 10 percent, which remains at the top level
among global automakers. And our net income reached
¥512.3 billion, or ¥125.16 per share, compared to ¥122.02
per share for the previous fiscal year.
NISSAN Value-Up
The Nissan revival story is now complete. Our next 
three-year business plan, ‘NISSAN Value-Up,’ is focused,
as its name suggests, on delivering sustainable long-term
value to all our stakeholders. As such, it is evolutionary 
not revolutionary.
As with our previous business plans, NISSAN Value-Up
establishes three core commitments. They are ambitious,
and will require us to stretch our capabilities. But they 
are realistic. 
Profit:Nissan will maintain the top level of operating
profit margin among global automakers for each of the
three years of the plan. Operating profit remains at the
center of our management system, as it is the most
accurate measure of business performance. 
LETTER FROM CEO