May 23 (SeeNews) - Romanian car maker Automobile Dacia, a unit of France's Renault, said its net profit jumped 67% to 498 million lei ($107 million/101 million euro) in 2021, adding that it does not expect its activities to be significantly impacted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
In 2021, Dacia's sales reached 21.4 billion lei, rising by an annual 17.2%, a report published on its website showed.
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Sales of vehicles and car components accounted for 90.5% of Dacia's total sales, and were up by an annual 17.4% on the year, due to an increase in exports. Last year, Dacia's exports increased by 20.7%, out of which exports to European Union member states accounted for 81.3%.
Dacia sold a total 257,280 units in 2021, down by an annual 0.7%. The best sold model was Duster, accounting for 75.5% of total sales, followed by Sandero, Logan, Logan MCV and Jogger.
"Sales in 2021 were affected by the sanitary crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic and by the electronic components shortage," Dacia said in the report.
Dacia said in the report that it does not expect its activities to be significantly impacted by the war in Ukraine and by the international sanctions imposed on Russia. However, it noted that the war in Ukraine is expected to significantly impact economic entities active in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus, affect liquidity and contribute to a strong increase in prices of oil, natural gas, metals and minerals and agricultural crops.
In April, Romanian economy minister Florin Spataru said that the flexible work programme at car maker Automobile Dacia must be extended in a move to keep jobs amid difficulties caused by the pandemic, semiconductors shortage and the war in Ukraine. The ministry added that it is trying to find ways to support Dacia, which has recently had to reduce work hours and suspend certain operations.
The company ended 2021 with 12,771 staff, down 730 compared to 2020.
On May 16, Renault Group signed agreements to sell 100% of Renault Russia to Moscow City entity, as well as its 66.69% interest in Avtovaz to the Central Research and Development Automobile and Engine Institute.
Renault bought Romania's Automobile Dacia, an ailing state company at the time, in 1999.
Dacia has topped the SeeNews ranking of the 100 biggest companies by total revenue in Southeast Europe for the last seven years.
(1 euro = 4.9477 Romanian lei)
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