The ordeal of Renault continues, to reaffirm the difficult moment of the car market. After the weak accounts of the first half of FCA, which however are compensated by the good stability of those of betrothed Psa Peugeot, today the half-yearly reports of the Renault-Nissan group and also of Volkswagen have arrived. If the Germans, despite seeing revenues and profits fall, say they have contained the impact of the Covid-19 crisis, the same cannot be said of the French group, which has been led by the Italian manager Luca De for a month Meo. Renault is reliving the nightmare of 2009, the last year in the red before 2019, when after ten consecutive years of profit the first sign had arrived, a loss of 141 million. This time, however, things went much worse: -7,3 billion. In the first half of 2020, Renault therefore lost more than double the entire financial year 2009 (-3,1 billion).
The consequences of the tumble immediately spilled over into the Stock Exchange, where in mid-morning the French house lost 2,5%, below 24 euros per share. According to the French press, Renault is still paying for the Carlos Ghosn deal, the former CEO who ended up in an international judicial scandal, and the consequent deterioration of the relationship with Nissan, the partner who contributed a lot to the sinking of the accounts. Covid has also played its part, even if Renault has done worse than the car market, in terms of registrations: -35% against -28%, with turnover dropped by a third to 18,4 billion. "Given the uncertainties weighing on the health situation, both in Europe and in emerging markets, Renault is unable to give reliable guidance for the year," said chairman Jean-Dominique Senard.
The situation at Volkswagen is less complicated. The German group, tried in recent years by the Dieselgate scandal, limited the damage in the first half of 2020, even if the results are negative. The operating result has in fact fallen to -800 million euros, compared to 10 billion in the same period last year. Profit before taxes is also in the red, by 1,4 billion, compared to +9,6 billion a year ago. Revenue fell 23% to $96,1 billion, and deliveries fell 27,4% year-on-year, from $5,4 million to $3,9 million. Consequentially Volkswagen has decided to significantly reduce the dividend for 2019, from 6,5 euros to 4,8 euros per share.
