The car manufacturer Renault with CEO Luca de Meo (56) did significantly more business last year and also made a profit again. The bottom line is that the French earned 2.2 billion euros, as the company announced on Wednesday evening in Boulogne-Billancourt near Paris. A year earlier, the previously important business had been abandoned Russia pushed the group into the red and caused a loss of 354 million euros.
The VW competitor increased sales by 13 percent to 52.4 billion euros, mainly due to price increases, but also the increase in sales figures. The operating profit margin – i.e. the proportion of profits in daily business compared to sales – increased by 2.4 percentage points to 7.9 percent. The dividend is expected to rise from 0.25 euros per share a year ago to 1.85 euros.
At 3 billion euros, the free cash inflow (free cash flow) in 2023 was around 900 million euros above the previous year’s value and also significantly exceeded the target of at least 2.5 billion. In the current year, CEO de Meo wants to bring in at least 2.5 billion euros. The operating margin should be at least 7.5 percent.
Most recently, the French car manufacturer had it IPO of its electric car and software division Ampere cancelled. The reason for this is, among other things, the situation on the markets, said Renault. Renault had originally aimed for a partial IPO of the business in the first half of 2024 if market conditions were favorable. Many analysts were critical of the plan given the weakening demand for electric cars.