Nissan reports 16 percent drop in quarterly profit

Japanese automaker Nissan said Tuesday its April-June quarter profit fell 16 percent because of higher material costs and taxes and a lack of new models. Nissan said its group net profit for the fiscal first quarter slid to 92.3 billion yen ($765 million) despite an on-year sales jump.

After marking a dramatic turnaround in recent years from near-bankruptcy under a 1999 alliance with Renault SA of France, Nissan Motor Co. has seen sliding sales amid a dearth of new models. Higher raw material costs and incentives, or discounts to woo buyers, have also hurt Japan's No. 3 automaker. Quarterly sales climbed 10.7 percent to 2.45 trillion yen ($20 billion), it said in a statement.