by Gilles Guillaume and Giulio Piovaccari
PARIS (Reuters) – Stellantis reported a decline in its operating margin in 2023 under pressure from strikes in the United States but posted record turnover, net profit and industrial cash flow thanks to the rising sales volumes, while the proposed dividend increase takes the stock to a record high.
The automaker announced a drop in its operating margin to 10% in the second half of 2023 due to the impact of six weeks of strikes in the United States which shut down its operations in North America, the region. most profitable of the group.
The strikes add to a complicated outlook for global automakers, with demand remaining limited for electric vehicles as competition from China intensifies, costs remain high and geopolitical uncertainties weigh.
Over the year 2023, Stellantis’ operating margin falls to 12.8% after 13.4% in 2022.
The increase in consolidated sales, which increased by 7% in 2023, nevertheless brought the group’s turnover to a record of 189.5 billion euros, compared to 179.6 billion euros a year earlier. .
Net profit also reached a record, at 18.6 billion euros, up 11% year-on-year.
Industrial free cash flow jumped 19% and reached a historic high of 12.9 billion euros.
The group indicated that it would propose a dividend of 1.55 euros per share for 2023, an increase of around 16% over one year.
3 BILLION EURO SHARE BUYBACK PROGRAM
At 09:20 GMT, Stellantis shares listed in Paris gained 3.61% after gaining up to 4.9% earlier in the morning, bringing it to a record of 23.68 euros. The CAC 40 increased by 0.87% at the same time.
“Overall, this is a very solid year which confirms the group’s strong execution capacity on a global scale,” note JP Morgan analysts in a note.
“The group renews its commitment to achieve a minimum double-digit current operating margin for 2024, as well as positive industrial free cash flow despite macroeconomic uncertainties,” Stellantis said in a press release.
“This is our minimum commitment, which we make every year. The number incorporates a lot of supporting factors and headwinds, but we remain very committed to this outlook,” said financial director Natalie Knight during a conference of press.
Natalie Knight said the cost impact of the strikes would be similar to that suffered by competitors but that on a global level Stellantis could rely on its pricing power in North America.
“So the impact for us will certainly be lower than our competitors,” she said.
Natalie Knight did not provide an estimate on the impact of these higher costs.
In a separate statement, Stellantis announced on Thursday that its board of directors had approved a share buyback program of up to 3 billion euros, to be executed in 2024.
(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari in Milan, with Gilles Guillaume in Paris, Corentin Chappron, edited by Kate Entringer)
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