Nissan Motor Co. posted a third straight quarterly loss as the global recession cut demand for new vehicles and a stronger yen hurt earnings from exports.

The carmaker had a first-quarter loss of ¥6.5 billion, compared with a net profit of ¥52.8 billion a year earlier, Nissan said Wednesday. Sales fell 35 percent to ¥1.51 trillion in the three months that ended in June.

Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn is slashing 20,000 jobs this year as the company expects global vehicle sales to slide 9.7 percent to 3.08 million units.

The value of Nissan's overseas sales last quarter was also hurt by the yen's 7 percent gain against the dollar.

"Nissan had predicted a tough year and is suffering as badly as it forecast," said Hitoshi Yamamoto, chief executive officer of Fortis Asset Management Japan Co. "Nissan is good at cost-cutting, but it's difficult for it to generate profit."

Operating profit, or sales minus the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses, plunged 85 percent to ¥11.6 billion.

The automaker reiterated its net loss forecast of ¥170 billion in the current year ending in March, the second straight loss.

Its first-quarter global vehicle sales fell 23 percent to 723,000. Sales in Japan dropped 22 percent to 116,000 vehicles.

Sales in China jumped 9.3 percent to 145,000. The automaker intends to expand its capacity there, it said Wednesday.