If Athens cries, Sparta laughs in this case. While the historic rival Renault-Nissan is experiencing turbulent months after the events related to thenow former CEO Carlos Ghosn, the other big French automotive company, the PSA Group (which includes, among others, the Peugeot, Citroën and Opel brands), instead closes a record 2018, with revenues growing by 19% above 74 billion euros , and a net profit that jumped as much as 47%, to 2,83 billion. These are two figures that represent an all-time high and to which must be added a substantial increase in car sales (+6,8% to 3,88 million vehicles sold, also a record) and an operating margin from +43% to 5,69 billion.
The transalpine group has thus decided to propose to the shareholders' meeting a dividend of 0,78 euros per share. An award is also provided for employees: all those who earn up to twice the minimum wage (SMIC) will receive a one-off bonus of 2019 euros gross in 3.810, much higher than last year. The same choice had made for example About a year ago, after the excellent results of 2017, and in the wake of that opening, the negotiation underway with the unions for the renewal of the contract.
As regards the analysis of PSA's performance, this is largely attributable to the German division Opel, which was recently incorporated and which even compensated for what would have been a 12% drop in sales, penalized in general by the stop in trading with Iran (due to American sanctions) and by the collapse of group registrations in China. In fact, the European market takes the lion's share: in 2018 it was worth 80% of sales, against 65% in 2017, and a market share that now exceeds 17%, thanks above all to the excellent performance of the Peugeot and Citroen SUVs. “We have grown for the fifth consecutive year – commented the chairman Carlos Tavares – and today we close the first phase of the industrial plan with exceptional results. This demonstrates the ability of the PSA Peugeot group to generate profitable and constant growth. We will continue to bet and believe in our agile, customer-centric approach and social responsibility”.
However, the good results have not yet sustained the stock that loses in Paris: on the Paris Stock Exchange, Peugeot shares lose 3,3% at 11:30 and joins the DJ Stoxx Auto reference index, dropping more than 1%. For 2019, the CEO Tavares confirmed the launch of the brand in the USA and Canada in a conference call. Peugeot expects a stable car market in Europe, with a slight decline in Latin America and China by 1% and 3% respectively, while it expects a 5% increase in Russia. As for the outlook, it estimates an average recurring operating margin above 4,5% for the automotive division between 2019 and 2021.
