Stock photo of the Stellantis logo
by Gilles Guillaume and Giulio Piovaccari
Stellantis reported 7% growth in net revenue in the third quarter on Tuesday, as higher volumes and stable pricing of its models more than offset unfavorable currency effects and the impact of the strike in the United States.
The turnover of the automobile manufacturer born from the merger between PSA and FCA stood at 45.1 billion euros, exceeding the expectations of analysts who forecast 43.7 billion according to a consensus established by Reuters.
On the Paris Stock Exchange, the stock rose 2% at the end of the morning.
In the United States, an agreement in principle on wages was reached with the UAW union after more than six weeks of work stoppages. These had a negative impact on net sales of around three billion euros compared to planned production until October, Stellantis said in a press release.
“Stellantis published a surprisingly strong turnover despite a three billion euro impact from the strike (in the United States), and reported a moderate increase in inventories, suggesting that destocking in Europe is underway” , comments Jefferies in an analysis note.
“We were in a good position from the start (in terms of profitability),” said the group’s financial director, Natalie Knight, during a press conference call. “And when we look at the impacts of the strikes, they’re actually the lowest of the big three (Detroit automakers). From a profitability standpoint, we expect them to be less than $750 million ( euros).”
Ford said it expected the strikes to reduce its adjusted operating margin by around $1.3 billion (1.22 billion euros), while General Motors said it expected losses of at least minus $1 billion.
Stellantis, which nevertheless confirmed its forecasts, reported an 11% increase in its sales volume to 1.427 million vehicles in the third quarter.
The manufacturer with 14 brands is still targeting a double-digit adjusted operating margin in 2023 and has revised upwards most of its market forecasts for the year, with the exception of South America, which is now expected to be stable and not more growing by 3%.
The group’s global sales of electric vehicles jumped 37% in the third quarter thanks in particular to the Jeep Avenger, the Citroën Ami, the Peugeot e-208, the Fiat 500e and the Citroën e-Berlingo utility vehicle.
In Europe, Stellantis now claims second place on the manufacturers’ podium in the third quarter, ahead of Tesla and behind the Volkswagen group.
(Report by Gilles Guillaume, with Giulio Piovaccari in Milan, edited by Blandine Hénault)