The car manufacturer Opel earns money again under its new French owner PSA. In the first half of the year, the operating result for the Opel division amounted to 502 million euros, as the company announced. Opel had previously been in the red for nearly 20 years.
“After many years, the recovery is proof of the potential – and contrary to all expectations,” said PSA CFO Jean-Baptiste de Chatillon. It is only the beginning. The subsidiary must now continue to improve to reach the level of the group. Opel has been part of PSA since August last year. Because of the harsh austerity measures, thousands of employees have already left the company.
In the parent division with the brands Peugeot, Citroen and DS, the operating margin of the parent company PSA was even 8.5 percent – a value that would otherwise reach more premium carmaker and not mass market manufacturers such as PSA. Among other things, Peugeot makes progress on selling more expensive SUVs, but also with cost reductions. The PSA share rose around 10 percent this morning. In the top, the papers put on as strong as in six years not.
The numbers are impressive, wrote Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois. J.P. Morgan expert Jose Asumendi spoke of the “fastest turnaround” he has seen in the auto industry “in many years.”
PSA boss Carlos Tavares was satisfied in an interview with the financial broadcaster Bloomberg TV. It is the “first sign of a successful turnaround”. The Portuguese is regarded as a tough restructuring firm, which does not shy away from layoffs to increase profitability. He brought the French carmaker PSA, which was on the brink of the financial crisis, back on track with a tough austerity program.