Nissan has reported a rise in operating profits for the three months to December by 5.2% to 219.6bn yen (£1bn).

The Japanese manufacturer sold a total of 819,240 vehicles worldwide in the October-to-December 2005 period, up 0.4%.

Sales dropped by 19% in Japan, while in the US market they shrank by 7.1%.

However, products such as the Murano sports utility vehicle lifted sales in Europe by 25%.