Russian carmaker AvtoVAZ doubles first half net profit to $209 million

According to KHABARKHODRO,AvtoVAZ, the largest carmaker from Russia, announced that it registered a profit more than double than last year, especially due to increased sales of Lada.

In the first six year of this year, AvtoVAZ’s net profit reached 6.4 billion roubles ($209 million), while income rose 40 percent to 82.2 billion roubles. It have sold 291,540 Ladas in the same period, which represent an increase of 31.3 percent vs. last year.

The car maker stated: “The group’s financial result was formed with AvtoVAZ’s 2.1-billion-ruble profit to Russian Accounting Standards, 400-million-ruble operating profit of the group’s subsidiaries and adjustments envisaged by IFRS requirements totaling 3.9 billion rubles”.

After 2009, the year in which car sales registered a historical decrease, Russia’s overall car sales are expected to reach 2.45 million in 2011 according to the forecasts of the Association of European Businesses. This figure is 28 percent more than last year, when the sales reached 1.91 million.

Before the financial crisis, Russia was close of becoming Europe’s biggest car market. But the collapse in demand and the diminishing loans determined its set back. Foreign car makers including Ford, General Motors and Renault are betting on fast growth in the Russian market to offset slowing sales in the West.