PSA Estimated 150 mln euros hit to H1 results from Japan's disaster

A senior official of the France's No. 1 car maker PSA Peugeot Citroen estimated Tuesday that the group is likely to suffer an impact of 150 million euros (216.1 million U.S. dollars) in its operational results of the first half of this year for the effect brought by the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

The group is "obviously attentive" to the situation, its Chief Financial Officer Frederic Saint-Geours was quoted as saying in a general meeting in Paris. Meanwhile, the financial officer confirmed that 2011 would witness more profit of the automotive division from 2010.

Following a profit of 1.13 billion euros (1.63 billion dollars) in 2010, the Europe's second biggest carmaker by market value reported 10.2 percent increase in sales in the first quarter though the group in March reduced production in plants both in France and overseas.

The earthquake and tsunami hitting Japan in mid-March had disrupted the global automotive industry and caused supply difficulties for almost all operators.

Announcing the group's first quarter results in April, PSA said strong demand in emerging markets can offset the negative impact of supply chain woes in Japan, therefore the group can uphold its objectives for 2011, seeing a stable European market in 2011, with around 10 percent market growth in China, 4 percent in Latin America and 15 percent in Russia.

According to local media, PSA is considering to locate two sites of new plants in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in South India.

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