Renault’s beginning of a new era
Renault set a weaker full-year profit goal on Thursday, mentioning currency challenges and market uncertainties, as the French automaker presented annual results without its ousted CEO Carlos Ghosn for the first time ever in 13 years.
Under new leadership since ouster of Ghosn, Renault targeted profitability of “around 6 percent” in this year, compared with a 6.3 percent operating margin recorded in 2018.
Income and profit both fell as expected on the combined effect of currency setbacks, a withdrawal from Iran and a diesel sales decline that impact engine production for Renault’s alliance partner Nissan and affiliate Daimler.
The results nonetheless met Renault’s own targets, consisting revenue growth prior currency effects and an operating margin over 6 percent, on the way to its mid-term objective to surpass 7 percent in 2022.
“2018 was totally a challenging year in which we faced expected as well as unexpected difficulties,” new Chief Executive Thierry Bollore stated, adding that the results show “the group’s resilience”.
