Tokyo - Nissan Motor Co said Friday that its net profit fell 42.8 per cent to 52.8 billion yen (505 million dollars) in its first quarter from the same quarter a year before, mainly because of the rise in the yen.

Operating profit also plunged 46.1 per cent in the April-to-June quarter to 79.9 billion yen.

Japan's third-largest automaker saw its sales fall 4.1 per cent to 2.35 trillion yen.

Nissan's global sales were up 6.9 per cent for the quarter to 936,000 units.

Sales in the United States dipped 1.5 per cent to 253,000 units, and domestics sales fell by 2.2 per cent to 148,000 units. Sales in Europe remained flat at 156,000 units, the company said.

Nissan kept its full-year earnings forecast unchanged with an operating profit of 550 billion yen and net income of 340 billion yen. (dpa)