Nissan’s annual profits jump 27%, boosted by better sales in China, the US and Europe.

The company had net profits of 663.5 billion yen ($5.8 billion) in the year to the end of March.

However, Nissan forecast profits would drop by about 20% this financial year, partly due to currency fluctuations.

Earlier this week rival Toyota reported a fall in annual profits for the first time in five years, and warned this year risked being tougher still.

The yen has been strengthening against the dollar and this tends to hurt Japanese auto makers as it reduces profits repatriated from overseas.

Globally, Nissan sold a total of 5.63 million cars across the year, with the biggest jump in sales being its 8.4% growth in China. Sales were up by 4.2% in the US while sales in Europe excluding Russia were up by 7.2%.

The new financial year at Nissan also marks a new era of leadership, with Carlos Ghosn stepping down as chief executive but remaining as chairman.

Hiroto Saikawa, who was Nissan’s co-chief executive, now has the top job.

Hiroto Saikawa joined Nissan in 1977, and since 1999 has served in a number of senior management positions, including overseeing operations in the Americas and Europe.