Embattled French auto giant PSA Peugeot Citroen announced on Wednesday a massive net loss of €5-billion ($6.7-billion) for 2012, the worst result in its history.

But France's number one carmaker said it had built the foundations for recovery after cleaning up its balance sheet and implementing a tough restructuring plan.

Peugeot blamed the results on a previously announced €4.7-billion asset writedown last year and the crisis in the European car market.

The loss compared with a profit of €588-million in 2011, while revenue for the year fell 5.2 percent to €-55.4-billion.

The results "reflect the deterioration of the automative industry environment in Europe," chief executive officer Philippe Varin said in a statement.

But he added: "The foundations for our rebound have been laid."

The results were worse than forecast by analysts and overshadowed the previous record loss of €1.2-billion in 2009.

Net debt stood at €3-billion, the company said.

On Monday, the European Commission authorised France temporarily to shore up Peugeot to the tune of a six-month €1.2-billion guarantee.

PSA Peugeot Citroen, which has a strategic tie-up with General Motors (GM) of the United States, is in the midst of a restructuring involving deep job cuts.