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Dacia posts 86 million euro losses

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11.03.2003, 00:00 6

More than three years since takeover by the French group Renault, Romanian carmaker Dacia is still logging losses, although turnover is going up.
Dacia Pitesti last year posted 86 million euro losses, nearly 12% more than in 2001. The losses are also higher than the officials' 56 million-euro estimates early last year. 2002 was, therefore, the second year in a row when Dacia's losses were beyond the official estimates. The management had also estimated Dacia to lose 40 million euros in 2001, but it actually lost twice more than that, namely 77 million euros.
Why this trend?
"As the Romanian market opened to imported cars and the company's offer was renewed, Dacia was unable to profit from the domestic market growth," the company officials said.
Car purchases went up 22% last year, with imports accounting for the largest share in the total, as they increased by 42% and came to total 40% of the sales.
Furthermore, the carmaker explains that the sales, which did not increase sufficiently, caused the plant to "experience an insufficient production pace" which largely explains the deterioration of the operating results.
"This result is due to the low activity level, on the one hand, and to the serious efforts the company made in view of modernisation and preparing for its future, on the other," the company officials say.
Dacia posted 71 million euros in operating losses last year, up more than 10 million (16.5%) compared with 2001. Sales increased 6.7% amounting to more than 265 million euros, with nearly 57,700 cars sold. This was the first time since the arrival of Renault when the number of vehicles sold did not go down.
Whereas sales on the domestic market (52,700 units) were worth about as much as in 2001, Dacia exports doubled last year.
Under the circumstances, Dacia remains the Romanian market leader, having accounted for 49.4% of the total sales. SupeRNova was the best-selling model in Romania and covered 23.5% of the market.