Psa Peugeot, betrothed to FCA (the wedding will take place in 2021) emerges almost unscathed from the lockdown. Although the Covid crisis halved sales in the first half (-46%), the French car manufacturer still managed to close the period with a profit: albeit down by 1,2 billion compared to the first half of 2019, the net profit was close to 600 million euros, with the operating result which was positive for 731 million. The good performance was also welcomed by the managing director Carlos Tavares, who commented it as follows: “The result demonstrates the resilience of the group, after six years of intense work to increase our agility. Today we are a company that resists everything”.
However, for Peugeot it was a period of suffering: the drop in sales caused a drop in turnover of 34,5% to 25,12 billion, mainly due to the fact that 90% of the French company's business is carried out in the European market and that the virus containment measures taken above all in France, Italy and Spain negatively affected sales. Compared to a year ago, the market share held by Peugeot in Europe dropped from 17,4% to 16,1%. However, the transalpine group confirmed its guidance for 2020 ("We aim for a positive free cash flow") and Tavares also reiterated that the marriage with FCA will materialize regularly in the first quarter of 2021. "We are on time with the program and there is no 'is no delay,” the manager said on a conference call.
FCA DEAL
The more delicate question remains that ofAntitrust investigation into the merger with FCAin the light commercial vehicle segment. “We answer questions how it should be done. If we have to take measures we will. Everything is going according to schedule,” reassured Tavares. FCA and PSA confirm that the preparations for the 50/50 merger of their businesses announced in December 2019 are progressing well, also with regard to the Antitrust.
To journalists who asked him for a comment on the fact that FCA instead recorded a negative six-month period, the CEO replied that "the two groups are complementary" and that "FCA will guarantee benefits on the American market". Finally, Tavares spoke of the agreement signed by PSA with Total for the production of batteries between 2023 and 2025, through the new electric platform e-Vmp. Will FCA also use it after the merger? “We will discuss it after the closing. I can't talk about this yet, we are in the negotiation stage. However, we believe in the competitiveness of the e-Vmp platform and we will talk about it with our partner".
