In this May 11, 2021 file photo, a man wearing a face mask walks by the logo of Nissan Motor Co.'s showroom in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Nissan Motor Co. said Wednesday it expects to return to the black in fiscal 2021 through March for the first time in three years with a net profit of 60 billion yen ($546 million), helped by sweeping restructuring and a recovery in auto demand that had been hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

       The projection is a reversal from a 60 billion yen net loss forecast earlier and comes despite a global shortage of semiconductors and surging raw material costs that threaten to cut into profitability.

       The Japanese carmaker expects an operating profit of 150 billion yen on sales of 9.75 trillion yen, up 24.0 percent from a year earlier and revised from 9.1 trillion yen projected in May.

       Returning to profitability and finding a growth path is a priority for Nissan, following former Chairman Carlos Ghosn's ousting over his alleged financial misconduct at the company.

       Nissan also needs to increase investment to keep up with global rivals in shifting more to electrified vehicles.

       Speaking at a press briefing, CEO Makoto Uchida said restructuring has been progressing at Nissan, which reported strong first-quarter earnings.

       "Reflecting the first-quarter results despite the issue of semiconductor (shortage), we have decided to make revisions to the outlook," Uchida said, adding that a sales recovery in North America is strong.

       The maker of the Rogue crossover SUV and Note compact car also expects the yen to be much weaker against the U.S. dollar and the euro than previously estimated, a factor that could boost its overseas profits when repatriated.

       Nissan, which suffered massive losses of 448.70 billion yen in fiscal 2020 and 671.22 billion in fiscal 2019, has shifted from an expansionist policy under Ghosn, who chased sales volume, to cost cutting.

       In the April-June quarter, Nissan also returned to the black with a net profit of 114.53 billion yen. Operating profit came to 75.68 billion yen as sales grew 71.0 percent to 2.01 trillion yen.

       Nissan sold 1.05 million vehicles globally during the fiscal first quarter, reporting double-digit growth from a year earlier in North America, China, and Europe.

       The Yokohama-based company maintained its annual global sales target of 4.4 million vehicles.

       "The biggest impact of the semiconductor supply shortage will be felt in the second quarter as inventory levels are falling. We will make sure that we achieve the numbers by managing the situation well," Uchida said.

       Nissan continues to expect that annual production will decrease by about 250,000 vehicles due to the semiconductor shortage.

       Automakers have been facing the double whammy of the global chip crunch and the sprawling pandemic. The spread of COVID-19 in Thailand, Vietnam and other Southeast Asian nations has affected rival automakers including Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co.

       "We are running our production normally in Japan and are not impacted by the pandemic in Southeast Asian countries," Nissan Chief Operating Officer Ashwani Gupta told the briefing.

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