Peugeot maker PSA reaffirms margin goal after H1 sales slide
<p style="text-align: center;"><img title="1595925661433545.png" alt="8.png" src="/ueditor/php/upload/image/20200728/1595925661433545.png"/></p><p> Peugeot maker PSA Group held on to its margin target despite a fall in profitability in the first half of 2020, and said a recovery in sales had extended into July after the coronavirus pandemic ate into first-half revenues.<br/><br/>Like rival carmakers, PSA halted production as the outbreak spread from China to Europe and the United States, while dealerships also closed.<br/><br/>But the group, which is in the middle of working through a merger agreement with Italy¡¯s Fiat Chrysler, said it was aiming for a more positive second half.<br/><br/>¡°June has been a very strong rebound in sales and July is seeing a similar trend,¡± PSA¡¯s Financial Chief Philippe de Rovira told reporters.<br/><br/>PSA¡¯s revenue fell 34.5% in the first six months of 2020 to 25.12 billion euros ($29.47 billion), while the automotive division¡¯s adjusted operating margins shrank to 3.7% from 8.5% at end-2019.<br/><br/>PSA reiterated a goal for average margins of over 4.5% in the automotive unit for the 2019 to 2021 period, however.<br/><br/>The group¡¯s share of net profit for the first half of 2020 also stayed in positive territory, at 595 million euros, down from 1.83 billion euros a year ago.<br/><br/>The carmaker¡¯s profitability has eclipsed that of some rivals including France¡¯s Renault in recent quarters, helped by honing in on pricier models like SUVs.<br/><br/>De Rovira said the merger with FCA - which is set to create the world¡¯s fourth largest carmaker, baptised ¡°Stellantis¡± - was still on course to close in the first quarter of 2021.<br/><br/>Earlier this month, European Union antitrust regulators suspended their investigation into the proposed merger while waiting for data.<br/><br/>Asked about possible concessions to get the deal over the line, De Rovira, who described exchanges with the EU as normal, said the carmakers would listen to regulators¡¯ observations ¡°with a very flexible mindset¡±.</p>
28 Jul,2020
