Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn reviews the automaker's 2014 financial results. Nissan saw profits rise 17.6% last year.

Aided by a strong showing in North America and Western Europe, Nissan reported a 17.6% increase in profits for the fiscal year March 31.

Carlos Ghosn, the chief executive officer for Nissan and for Renault, said Nissan delivered solid full-year revenues and profits. The robust demand, especially for new products in North America and Western Europe, along with cost cutting and a favorable shift in the yen-dollar exchange rate, offset challenging market conditions in Japan and several emerging markets.

“These are solid results in a highly competitive marketplace,” Ghosn said.

“We have been encouraged by demand for our new products. In the year ahead, we will remain focused on delivering continued revenue and profit growth, driven by our product and technology offensive, cost and sales discipline, and growing synergies from the Renault-Nissan Alliance. These actions will ensure we remain on the right path towards our mid-term strategic goals.”

Nissan’s operating profit rose to $5.4 billion, representing a 5.2% margin on net revenues that increased 8.5% to $103.6 billion for the period.

In the fourth quarter, operating profit and net income also improved as revenues increased by 2.6%.

On a management pro-forma basis, which includes proportional consolidation of results from Nissan’s joint venture operation in China, fiscal year 2014 net revenues increased to by 8.5% year-on-year. Pro-forma operating profit rose by 18.6%, resulting in a 5.8% operating profit margin for the Nissan business in China.

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For fiscal year 2015, Nissan expects to sell 5.55 million units, up 4.4% and equivalent to a global market share of 6.5%. New models, including the Nissan Maxima, Lannia and Infiniti Q30, are expected to contribute to fiscal year 2015 sales growth, Nissan noted in financial report for the fiscal year.

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Nissan, which has placed a growing share of its production in the U.S., is also predicting currencies will work against it this year, but plans to beat expected flat industry-wide vehicles sales with growth of around 5-6% in China, the United States and Europe. Cost cuts are set to add a hefty 110 billion yen ($920 million) to profit.

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Nissan, 43.4% owned by France’s Renault SA, forecast operating profit of 675 billion yen – 2% less than a market consensus estimate, due in part to the automaker’s conservative exchange rate assumptions. Ghosn noted that sales were slumping in Brazil and Russia, while in China demand would be driven increasingly by price cuts.