Nissan Motor Company has announced its best financial results in its history and attributed them to its revival plan.

For the first year of the plan the company reported a consolidated net profit after tax of £1.9 billion (331.1 billion yen).

Carlos Ghosn, Nissan president, said: “Nissan is back. The revival plan has produced the best financial performance in the company's history as far as we can reliably trace it. We have more than tripled operating profits and cut debt to the lowest level in 15 years. The revival plan is fully engaged and the people at Nissan are stimulated and driven by the results they have delivered.”

Debt fell by £2.2 billion throughout the year and for the first time in 15 years came in below £5.4 billion.

Operating profit improved from £468m to £1.6 billion, more than tripling last year's performance and delivering an operating margin of 4.75% compared to 1.4% last year.

Unit sales increased in all major world markets. In Europe they increased 3.5% to 533,000 from last year. The exception was Japan where sales fell by 3.6%.

The revival plan, masterminded by Mr Ghosn since 1999, has seen Nissan reduce suppliers, lay off thousands of workers and close offices.

Risks to the continued success of the revival plan include a further slowdown in the global auto industry.