Mainly by Russia
For Renault, the past six months has been a period to quickly forget. At the bottom, a loss of €1.6 billion remains, mainly due to the cessation of business activities in Russia. Yet there are also points of improvement for the French car manufacturer.
Despite a significant drop in sales, Renault’s turnover increased by 0.3 percent compared to the first half of 2021. The total turnover for the past six months amounts to €21.1 billion. According to Renault, the fact that turnover is slightly higher despite a declining sales figure is mainly due to the new strategy in which the brand focuses more on the margin per car than on volume. That also works, because the operating margin in the first half of last year was still at 2.1 percent, it is now at 4.7 percent. Renault also repaid €1.2 billion in outstanding debts, leaving €426 million open. Fun fact: the best-selling Renault car in Europe in the past six months was not a Renault, but the Dacia Sandero!
Groupe Renault’s bestseller in Europe.
So much for the positive news for Renault, because due to the situation in Russia, the French have had to write off no less than €2.3 billion in the past six months. You don’t have to be a chartered accountant to realize that the loss is mainly due to that. Compared to the same period last year, it is a setback, because then Renault made a profit of €368 million.
Renault is quite optimistic for the rest of the year. An operating margin of more than five percent is expected. “Despite all the headwinds with the shutdown in Russia, the chip shortage and inflation, Renault continues to improve its business performance and we are starting to capitalize on the success of new launches,” said CEO Luca de Meo. “That is why we are raising expectations for the rest of the year.” Furthermore, De Meo says that Renault will present an accelerated version of the Renaulution strategy in the autumn.
.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl