Renault reports solid sales growth in Q3, reaffirms outlook

(Sharecast News) - Renault Group on Thursday reported a solid third quarter, with sales up by nearly a tenth over last year with all three of its automotive brands reporting growth.

Group revenues totalled �11.4bn over the three months to 30 September, up 6.8% over last year, with auto revenues up 5% at �9.8bn. Group and auto revenues would have been 8.5% and 6.8% higher at constant exchange rates, respectively.

Vehicle sales were up 9.8% at 529,486 units, as 14.9% growth internationally was met with 7.5% growth in the European market.

For the core Renault brand, the company said that strong performance in the EV market helped drive growth, with EV cars making up 20% of sales over the first nine months of the year combined.

The Dacia brand also performed well, ranking number two in the passenger cars market for retail customers over the year to date. Meanwhile, the Alpine sports car brand saw year-to-date sales more than double compared with last year.

Meanwhile, the company's Mobilize Financial Services division posted 18.4% revenue growth in the third quarter to �1.59bn, helped in part by higher interest rates.

With several vehicle launches still to come in the fourth quarter, including the Renault Boreal compact crossover SUV, Renault Kwid E-Tech and Alpine A390 C-SUV, the company reiterated its financial targets for the year - forecasting an operating margin of around 6.5% and free cash flow of between �1.0bn and �1.5bn.

"In a highly challenging environment, we continue to capitalize on our compelling and competitive line-up - spanning electric, ICE, and hybrid vehicles - driving a 6.8% increase in group revenue this quarter," said chief executive Duncan Minto.

"With the target to be the best in what we can control, we remain fully committed to our value over volume strategy, while maintaining strong focus on executing our cost-reduction roadmap."

Renault shares were down 2.3% at �34.48 by 1152 in Paris.