Renault earnings soar thanks to lower restructuring costs

PanARMENIAN.Net - French car maker Renault says its earnings soared last year thanks to lower restructuring costs, and forecasts further growth in 2015, the Associated Press reports.

France's number two car maker behind PSA Peugeot Citroen says in a statement Thursday net profit more than doubled to 1.89 billion euros ($2.1 billion) last year, while new car and light truck registrations climbed 3.2 percent to 2.7 million vehicles. Renault's 2013 earnings were weighed down by a 1.3-billion-euro restructuring charge.

The maker of the best-selling Clio hatchback forecast 2 percent growth in Europe's car market this year but warned it expects "high volatility" in its main emerging markets.

Europe's car market grew 5.7 percent in 2014, the first positive year-on-year result since the global financial crisis began in 2007.