
Renault posts first-half loss of 11.2 billion euros
Revenues at the French car maker came in at 27.6 billion euros, up 2.5% compared with a year earlier, helped by several new product launches, though its operating margin fell 2.1 percentage points to 6%.
Renault lowered its annual forecast earlier this month after market conditions deteriorated, particularly in the commercial vehicle market.
The group, whose sales volume growth slowed to 1.3% in the first half, now expects an operating margin of around 6.5% in 2025, compared with at least 7% previously targeted, and free cash flow of between 1.0 billion and 1.5 billion euros, compared with at least 2 billion previously anticipated.
'Our first-half results, in a challenging market, were not aligned with our initial ambitions,' said Francois Provost, appointed new CEO of the group late on Wednesday.
'Nevertheless, Renault Group's profitability remains a reference in our industry, and we are determined to maintain this standard,' he added in a statement.
Excluding the impact related to Nissan, its net income attributable to the group reached 461 million euros.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Express Tribune
15 hours ago
- Express Tribune
McLaren's Norris leads Hungarian practice
Lando Norris lapped 0.019 of a second quicker than Formula One championship leader Oscar Piastri as the McLaren pair finished one-two in first practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix on Friday. Norris, 16 points behind his Australian teammate going into the last race before the August break, lapped the Hungaroring with a best time of one minute 16.052 seconds with the soft tyres on a sunny afternoon. The Briton was on pole at the circuit last year in a race won by Piastri, his first victory in F1. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was third fastest, 0.217 off the pace, with Racing Bulls' French rookie Isack Hadjar in fourth. Lewis Hamilton, winner a record eight times in Hungary, was fifth for Ferrari and suffered a big lock-up as he wrestled with the car. Oliver Bearman was sixth for Haas, ahead of Mercedes pair Kimi Antonelli and George Russell with Red Bull's reigning champion Max Verstappen ninth and Lance Stroll completing the top 10 for Aston Martin. Russell complained about his car's balance and said it was hard to turn. Verstappen's Japanese teammate Yuki Tsunoda was only 17th. Brazilian Felipe Drugovich stood in for Fernando Alonso at Aston Martin, with the Spaniard suffering from back pain, and was 16th fastest. Estonian Paul Aron also took Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber for the session and was last after having to stop before the midpoint of the session due to a technical problem. McLaren's progress faster than Ferrari in Schumacher era: Stella McLaren's rate of progress may be faster than Ferrari during their golden era with German Formula One great Michael Schumacher, team boss Andrea Stella said on Friday. The Italian worked at Maranello with seven-times champion Schumacher as an engineer during that period but told reporters at the Hungarian Grand Prix that he had been surprised by McLaren's growth. The Woking-based team won the constructors's title last season and are running away with both championships this year with Piastri and Norris fighting for the drivers crown. McLaren have won 10 of 13 races so far and are a mighty 268 points clear of second second-placed Ferrari in the team standings. In 2023 they were fourth overall and in 2022 fifth. "It's always difficult to compare across seasons," said Stella, who joined McLaren from Ferrari in 2015. "In this case, we are comparing across teams, and even myself, I was in a very different role, so my field of view, my perspective was very different. "But if I had to pick a couple of features of the journey that is happening here at McLaren, I would say the rate of progress that we have had in a couple of years is in itself pretty unique. "And possibly the rate of progress itself was even faster than what we experienced at Ferrari in the very competitive times." Schumacher won five titles in a row between 2000-2004, with the last one a particularly dominant season and Ferrari winning 15 of 18 races. Stella said McLaren had set out an ambitious programme when deciding how much effort to put into developing their car this season, with a new engine era coming in 2026 that could shake up the pecking order.


Business Recorder
2 days ago
- Business Recorder
Renault posts first-half loss of 11.2 billion euros
PARIS: Renault reported a first-half net loss attributable to the group of 11.19 billion euros ($12.78 billion) on Thursday, including a one-off 9.3 billion euros from writing down its investment in partner Nissan flagged earlier this month. Revenues at the French car maker came in at 27.6 billion euros, up 2.5% compared with a year earlier, helped by several new product launches, though its operating margin fell 2.1 percentage points to 6%. Renault lowered its annual forecast earlier this month after market conditions deteriorated, particularly in the commercial vehicle market. The group, whose sales volume growth slowed to 1.3% in the first half, now expects an operating margin of around 6.5% in 2025, compared with at least 7% previously targeted, and free cash flow of between 1.0 billion and 1.5 billion euros, compared with at least 2 billion previously anticipated. 'Our first-half results, in a challenging market, were not aligned with our initial ambitions,' said Francois Provost, appointed new CEO of the group late on Wednesday. 'Nevertheless, Renault Group's profitability remains a reference in our industry, and we are determined to maintain this standard,' he added in a statement. Excluding the impact related to Nissan, its net income attributable to the group reached 461 million euros.


Business Recorder
2 days ago
- Business Recorder
SocGen lifts targets after French retail rebounds sharply
PARIS: Societe Generale, France's third-largest listed bank, raised its annual profit target on Thursday after a strong rebound in its French retail business lifted second quarter results above expectations. The French lender raised its 2025 return on tangible equity target, a key profitability measure, to around 9% from a previous goal of above 8%. It now expects its cost-to-income ratio, a key efficiency indicator, at below 65% this year versus a previous target of below 66%. The SocGen division that houses its core French retail business doubled its net earnings in the second quarter, driven by a 15% increase in net interest income. NII is the difference between what the bank earns on loans and pays on deposits. The rebound in the retail unit builds on momentum seen in the first quarter, as CEO Slawomir Krupa, who took the reins in 2023, presses ahead with turnaround efforts. Group net income jumped 31% to 1.45 billion euros ($1.66 billion) in the second quarter, compared to the same period last year, well above the 1.19 billion euros estimate of 15 analysts compiled by the company. Revenues over the period were up 1.6% to 6.79 billion euros, also beating analysts' average estimate. In addition, the bank announced an interim dividend of 61 euro cents per share to be paid in October. It plans a 1 billion euro share buyback in August. Cost cuts 'We remain fully focused on the precise and methodical execution of our 2026 roadmap to continue delivering sustainable and profitable growth for all our stakeholders,' Krupa said in a statement. The hard-driving company veteran was brought in to revive SocGen's shares after years of underperformance. He recently drew attention in France by urging staff to review remote working policies and spend at least four days a week in the office. Investor perception of the bank had long been hurt by repeated missed targets, the fallout from a rogue trading scandal during the 2008 financial crisis and a costly exit from Russia following the country's invasion of Ukraine. Krupa's plan, centered on reducing expenses, asset disposals, and strengthening the bank's capital, initially underwhelmed the market. But improved cost management has helped shares climb around 120% in the past year. SocGen's valuation, however, still remains well below its book value. The French lender's investment banking division, its largest, posted revenue in line with analysts expectations. Sales from trading in fixed income and currencies rose 7.3% to 615 million euros, trailing BNP Paribas's 27% jump. Equities trading revenue fell 2.9% to 962 million euros. SocGen's trading business benefited less from increased market volatility sparked by the wave of tariffs rolled out by US President Donald Trump than Wall Street peers and larger French rival BNP Paribas.