MILAN, Nov 3 (Reuters) – Sales at Stellantis (STLA.MI) rose 29% in the third quarter, helped by higher volumes amid better semiconductor supplies, the world’s fourth-largest carmaker said in a statement on Thursday.
But while the semiconductor crunch was easing, other supply chain issues were looming on Stellantis’ operations, especially around logistics in Europe.
Net revenues amounted to 42.1 billion euros ($41.3 billion)in the July-September period, topping analyst expectations of 40.9 billion euros, according to a Reuters poll.
Strong pricing and favourable forex also supported revenue growth, the company added.
Consolidated shipments rose 13% in the quarter to 1.281 million units, Stellantis said, also confirming its forecast for a double-digit margin on adjusted operating profit and positive industrial free cash flow this year.
The group’s global sales of battery electric vehicles (BEV) rose 42% year-on-year to 68,000 units.
Logistics issues caused an increase in the group’s vehicle inventory stock, while overall dealer sales to final customers were down 4% in the quarter.
Chief Financial Officer Richard Palmer said the whole industry was facing a scarcity of trucks and drivers, which was making it difficult for Stellantis to “convert our strong order portfolio into sales in Europe”.
Palmer added the company was currently seeing “no red light flashing” on possible energy constraints affecting its supply chain and that the level of concern was now relatively lower compared to a few months ago, as “everyone is taking actions”.
“It the winter is normal … then I think we’re reasonably confident that we can manage production without any significant interruptions,” Palmer said.
“But the risk is that we have a very extensive supply chain and small hiccups in suppliers can create big complexities for us in terms of the completion of vehicles.”
($1 = 1.0190 euros)
Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari and Gilles Guillaume, editing by Agnieszka Flak
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