Nissan Motor Corp. announced Monday that group operating profit rose 13.6 percent to ¥498.3 billion for the business year ended in March, boosted by strong sales in Japan and North America.

The Yokohama-based firm said its consolidated net profit was up 14.0 percent to ¥389 billion on net sales of ¥10.48 trillion.

"Nissan outperformed the market with unit sales up 11.1 percent to 719,000" in Japan, CEO Carlos Ghosn said at a news conference in Yokohama.

He said sales volume climbed 13 percent to 1.29 million units in the United States.

Consolidated operating profit was also helped by the weakened yen and cost reduction efforts.

For fiscal 2014, the automaker aims to increase global car sales to 5.65 million units, up 8.9 percent, on the back of growth in regions other than Japan, which might see sales slump from the April 1 consumption tax hike.

"In Japan, we expect continued pressure on consumers due to the recent sales tax increase," Ghosn said. "This will be more than offset by sales growth in China, North America and in Europe."

According to its projections, car sales will decline 11.0 percent to 640,000 units in Japan, while sales will grow 17.6 percent to 1.43 million units in China, 6.8 percent to 1.76 million in North America and 15.4 percent to 780,000 in Europe.

The automaker expects a consolidated operating profit of ¥535 billion, up 7.4 percent, and a group net profit of ¥405 billion, an increase of 4.1 percent, on sales of ¥10.79 trillion, up 2.9 percent.