PARIS (Reuters) – French car company Renault said on Friday all options were on the table for separation tram business, including a public listing in the second half of 2023.
Thierry Piéton, Renault’s chief financial officer, said any plans would have to be approved by its alliance partner Nissanbut did clarify that the Japanese automaker was “in a loop” as Renault weighed its options.
Renault has been pushing ahead with plans to split up its electric and combustion engine businesses while trying to catch up with rivals (most notably, Volkswagen) in the race to drive cleaner.
Ford said last month it would run its EV business separately from its legacy internal combustion engine operations.
The news comes as Renault posted better-than-expected revenue for the first quarter, as higher prices and increased sales of electric vehicles largely offset the impact of the war in Ukraine and shortages of fuel. Global leadership is taking place.
Shares of Renault briefly jumped 5% after Bloomberg reported that Renault may consider reducing its stake in Nissan as part of a plan to spin off its electric vehicle business.
Renault declined to comment.
When asked about the report, a Nissan spokesman said “we do not comment on speculation.”
In early afternoon trading in Paris, Renault shares were up 1.4%.
The group, which also makes Dacia and Lada brand vehicles, said its revenue fell 2.7% from a year earlier, to 9.75 billion euros ($10.6 billion). According to Refinitiv estimates, analysts had expected revenue of around 9.61 billion euros.
Excluding Avtovaz and Renault Russia, revenue fell 1.1% to 8.9 billion euros.
Last month, Renault said it would suspend operations at its plant in Moscow while assessing options for its majority stake in Avtovaz, Russia’s number. first car brand.
On Friday, the French carmaker said talks on the future of Russian operations “are ongoing and progress is being made.”
The drop in first-quarter revenue led to a 17% drop in vehicle sales to 552,000 vehicles, Renault’s lowest total quarterly revenue since the 2009 global financial crisis.
The company says all-electric sales and hybrid car increased 13% and accounted for 36% of the total. Prices have increased by 5.6% compared to the first quarter of 2021 as the group pursues selling more profitable cars.
In a customer note, JP Morgan Analysts described this as a “strong quarter.”
They wrote: “Renault continues to execute on its pricing and rationalization policy and today’s results are a step in the right direction.”
Renault confirmed its financial outlook was given in March with a 2022 operating profit margin of around 3% and said it would update details on its goals and strategy later this year. .
There is a global shortage of semiconductors, used in everything from brake The company said it would cut Renault’s planned vehicle production to 300,000 vehicles by 2022, mainly in the first half of this year.
Renault orders at the end of March were at a 15-year high with 3.9 months of sales.
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(Reporting by Gilles Guillaume and Nick Carey Written by Sudip Kar-Gupta Edited by Tomasz Janowski and Mark Potter)
