A U T O     B U Z Z

Renault Posts Strong Profit for 2002, Partly Thanks to Nissan

PARIS - The French automaker Renault posted a sharp increase in 2002 net profit, thanks to a strong contribution from Japanese partner Nissan.

Reporting results for the first time since adopting full International Accounting Standards, Renault said net profit hit a record 1.956 billion euros (2.102 billion dollars), in line with analysts' forecasts.

Of that total, Nissan accounted for 1.335 billion euros, the company said in a statement.

Renault holds a 44.4-percent stake in Nissan, which in turn has a 15 percent share in the French carmaker.

Operating profit, a more narrow measure of Renault's performance alone, shot up to 1.483 billion euros.

Operating margin was 4.1 percent, compared with 1.3 percent under the company's previous accounting norms in 2001.

Revenue edged down by 0.04 percent to 36.336 billion euros from 36.351 billion following the divestments of the logistics company CAT and bus division Irisbus.

On a like-for-like basis, sales increased by 2.6 percent.

In January, Renault announced that sales had slipped by 0.3 percent in 2002 to 2.4 million vehicles.

Strong results by Renault's Romanian brand Dacia and South Korean brand Samsung were offset by a 2.5-percent drop in Renault models, owing to a gloomy market.

Looking ahead, Renault said it expects to see a significant impact in the second half of 2003 from new model launches, although it forecast a fall of between one and percent in the European car market.

Global sales should nonetheless grow and its operating margin would be around four percent, the automaker said.

Renault chairman Louis Schweitzer said the group could decide in the coming weeks whether to invest in a production site in Russia, where the company sold around 9,000 cars last year.

"We are considering an industrial investment that would make us a producer in Russia, as part of our joint venture with the municipality of Moscow, AvtoFramos," Schweitzer said.

"If things go as I hope, the decision could be taken in the coming weeks.

"The most likely hypothesis today is that it will happen," Schweitzer said.

Renault would produce its own cars, and possibly also the Dacia brand, which it acquired in 1999.

[ BUZZ MAIN ]