Renault sees 27% rise in profits

French car manufacturer Renault saw a 27% rise in full-year profit, mainly due to its 44.4% stake in Nissan Motor.

The Megane model proved its most popular model in terms of sales.

Net income for the full-year, rose to €2.48bn ($3.2bn) compared with €1.96bn a year earlier which included a contribution from Nissan and a contribution from Renault's 20% stake in Volvo Trucks.

This exceeded analysts' expectations of €2.34bn and saw shares in the company up 70c to €53.70 in Paris this morning.

Operating profit fell 5.5% to €1.4bn against €1.48bn last time, on turnover up 3.8% to €37.52bn.

Renault said it had reduced its debt from €2.5bn to €1.75bn at the end of 2003, while worldwide vehicle sales, which exclude Nissan, rose 3.9% to 1.17m units in Q2.

The company also reported that the strong euro had wiped 2% off its revenues and that its 2004 targets were based on the assumption that exchange rates would remain flat.