TOKYO, July 31 (Reuters) - Japan's Nissan Motor Co said on Thursday its first-quarter revenue totalled 1.65 trillion yen ($13.72 billion) as vehicle sales rose 2.7 percent from the same period last year on brisk U.S. demand.
Japan's third-largest auto maker, reporting quarterly sales figures for the first time, did not provide year-ago comparisons. But the revenue for the three months to June 30 was roughly half the 3.285 trillion yen booked in the half-year from April to September last year.
For the full year to March 31, Nissan has forecast a nine percent rise in revenue to 7.45 trillion yen.
Nissan, which is 44.4 percent owned by France's Renault , said it sold 700,215 vehicles worldwide in the first quarter to June 30, up 2.7 percent year-on-year.
By region, sales fell 5.9 percent in Japan, but rose 7.6 percent in the United States and 3.4 percent in Europe.
Nissan's sales have been relatively solid in all major markets, including in North America where it expects new models such as the Pathfinder Armada SUV, Titan pickup truck and Quest minivan to boost sales by double-digit percentages this year.
The auto maker is especially counting on the booming Chinese market to help it achieve its broader goal of expanding global vehicle sales by about 40 percent in the three years to 2005. It has been announcing expansion plans all over the world to that end, from Barcelona to Mississippi.
Nissan kept its full-year forecasts unchanged. It expects operating profit to rise 11 percent to 820 billion yen and net profit to stay flat around 495 billion yen.
During the April-June quarter, Nissan's shares surged 45 percent to 1,148 yen on expectations of a further climb in profits under the strong leadership of CEO Carlos Ghosn, far outshining its rivals and the TOPIX's 13 percent rise.
Before the announcement, Nissan's shares ended up 1.29 percent on the day at 1,175 yen, outperforming a 0.72 percent fall in the benchmark Nikkei average . ($1=120.23 Yen)