TOKYO, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Nissan Motor ( NSANF ) 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)

(Reporting by Daniel ​Leussink; ‌Editing by ​Muralikumar

Anantharaman)