Renault has reported group revenue of €8,447m (US$10.95bn) in the quarter ended 30 September 2012 (Q3 2012), a decline of 13.3% from the €9,745m generated in the same quarter of 2011.
Automotive revenue alone was down 14.4% at €7,928m (Q3 2011: €9,259m) while Sales Financing (RCI Banque) revenue was up 6.8% at €519m (€486m).
Renault group sales totalled 596,064 units in Q3 2012, down 5.8% year-on-year, the difficult European market in general and French market in particular outweighing international sales growth of 7.7%. In Europe, Renault group sales fell 18.4% (8.5% market share), owing to a disadvantageous geographical mix that resulted from strong market downturns in France (-11.7%), Italy (-23.3%) and Spain (-18.9%). Sales performance in France was impacted by the peak in activity over the same period in 2011, with the delivery of vehicles that could not be produced earlier following the tsunami in Japan. The group also suffered the effect of its business restructuring in the UK and its price policy in Europe. For the first time, over half of group sales were made outside Europe (55%, up 7 points) in Q3.
The year-on-year fall in group sales and network stock reduction contributed 16.3 points to the 14.4% Automotive revenue downturn (including a change in geographical mix of -0.7 points). The mix/price impact was positive at 3.1 points (of which price 0.5 points), owing mainly to a determined policy to defend unit margins in Europe and a rise in prices internationally. Currency effects were neutral. The remaining -1.2 points came from other activities, including -1.0 points from sales of built-up vehicles, components and powertrain parts to partners stemming from European market decline.
At RCI Banque, average loans outstanding came to €24.3bn in Q3 2012, up 6.3%. The number of new financing contracts fell 2.3% to 229,699 over the quarter.
The Q3 revenue fall meant that the year-to-date total was €29,382m, down 4.7% from the €30,846m reported in the first nine months of 2011. Automotive revenue declined 5.5% to €27,791m (€29,402m), with lower volume accounting for 6.8 points of the decline and geographical mix one point. The major positives were product/version mix (2.1 points) and price (0.3 points).
In its outlook, the OEM has confirmed that its 2012 volume will now fall below the previous year’s level of 2.72 million units, the result of an expected European market fall of (at best) 8% and a French market fall (at best) of 13%. Renault has maintained its positive 2012 Automotive operational free cash flow target, but warned, “the continuous deterioration of the European market remains a source of concern.”
