PARIS, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- The second largest French carmaker Renault on Thursday reported a net income of 1.73 billion euros (2.3 billion U.S. dollars) last year compared to 2.13 billion euros in 2011 as the global economic crisis melted automobile markets.
In a statement, Renault said its revenues stood at 41.27 billion euros over the period, down 3.2 percent from a year earlier as growing sales mainly in emerging markets failed to offset 18-percent decrease in Europe.
"In a contrasted global automotive market, Renault benefited from the growth of markets outside Europe, which account for over half of its sales," said Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and CEO of Renault.
"In the difficult environment in Europe, and especially in France, the Group led a rigorous sales policy and began the renewal of its range," he added.
Renault's automotive division contributed negatively to the group total revenue with 39.15 billion euros, down 3.7 percent from 2011.
This section also made "a slightly negative operating margin" with a 25 million-euro loss or -0.1 percent of revenue because of "sarply negative volume impact" and "increased competition in Europe," a financial report released on the group's website showed.
Referring to European market, French car maker expected a decline of 3 percent in 2013 with the global automotive market to expand by 3 percent, driven higher by expected positive momentum in China, North America, Russia and Brazil.
"Provided European and French markets are not significantly worse than expected," Renault targeted to report units sales growth, positive automotive operating margin and positive automotive operational free cash flow. (1 euro = 1.33 U.S. dollars)
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