Nissan posts 44% drop in quarterly operating profit

TOKYO, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Nissan Motor 7201.T reported a 44% fall in third-quarter operating profit to 17.5 billion yen ($114.37 million) on Thursday, as the struggling Japanese automaker faced heavy competition in markets such as the U.S. and China.

The results compared with an average estimate of an 81 billion yen loss in a survey of six analysts by LSEG and a 31.1 billion yen profit in the same period a year earlier.

($1 = 153.0100 yen)