Carmaker Dacia, one of the biggest companies on the Romanian market and Romania's main exporter, reported an 11.4 billion-lei (2.7 billion-euro) turnover last year, up 26.6% on the previous year, according to data published on the company's corporate website.

Thanks to the Duster SUV, which caused a stir on foreign markets, exporting over 81,000 units in seven months in 2010, Dacia, held by French group Renault, managed to increase its turnover amid a declining Romanian economy and a domestic car market that lost a further 25% in terms of volume.

The profit reported by Dacia for 2010 was 300 million lei (71.2 million euros), which compares with 230 million lei in 2009. The profit rate was 2.6%.

Considering that Dacia manufactured over 341,000 cars last year, each car sold on the Romanian market or exported fetched the company a profit of nearly 200 euros, according to ZF calculations. Dacia never specified what its net profit per car is or how much it costs to manufacture a car.

The operating profit, which reflects the company's core activity, went up by 322 million lei.

Surprisingly, while last year's profit was higher than that recorded a year before, the tax levied on the profit in 2009, was 34 million lei (8.5 million euros), which compares with 60.6 million lei in 2009.

Carmaker Dacia, one of the biggest companies on the Romanian market and Romania's main exporter, reported an 11.4 billion-lei (2.7 billion-euro) turnover last year, up 26.6% on the previous year, according to data published on the company's corporate website.

Thanks to the Duster SUV, which caused a stir on foreign markets, exporting over 81,000 units in seven months in 2010, Dacia, held by French group Renault, managed to increase its turnover amid a declining Romanian economy and a domestic car market that lost a further 25% in terms of volume