Nissan plans on rolling out revamped models later this year

The company, which is 44% owned by French company Renault, saw profits drop by 3.4%.

Net profits however for the year to March grew 1.1% to 518.1bn yen ($4.5bn; �2.5bn) compared to the previous year.

The firm does not have any new models planned until the latter half of this year for the US, a critical market.

US decline

However, Nissan does expect a revival when it launches a newer version of its Sentra and Altima models among others.

Nissan is forecasting its operating profit for the year starting in April to amount to 880bn yen - a figure both lower than that expected by analysts and lower than other Japanese car companies, based on Reuters estimates.

Other Japanese car companies meanwhile are expecting to take further market share against US rivals on their home territory.

Both Toyota and Honda are planning new models - the Camry Sedan and CR-V crossover respectively - that should help them achieve this.

The growth of Asian car companies in the US takes place as US companies such as General Motors and Ford are burdened with losses, due to restructuring costs, and a move away from gas guzzling vehicles.

Nissan's financial results come as the firm plans on building a $200m car plant in St Petersburg in Russia, ready to start production in 2009.