French car group PSA Peugeot Citroen reported a switch into net profit in the first half of the year, announcing profits of €680m today compared to a loss of €962m the same time last year.
It said it expected a current operating profit of about €1.5 billion for the whole year. Sales shot up by 20.8% to €28.394 billion.
The group announced the rise despite the phasing out of government subsidies for new cars in exchange for old, introduced at the height of the economic crisis to support the industry, a measure used by some other governments in Europe.
The group attributed the strong performance to the success of new models and firm global demand, and said that it had gained market share.
