Renault posts falling revenue amid turnaround effort

PARIS (Reuters) – French carmaker Renault reported a fall of 1.1% in first-quarter revenue on Thursday, despite a boost from rising vehicle prices as the group looks to focus on more profitable models under Chief Executive Officer Luca de Meo.

The group, which also produces the Dacia and Lada brands and has a financing unit, said overall sales slipped to 10 billion euros ($12.03 billion) from a year earlier, the fifth successive quarter of falling revenue.

Like peers, Renault has been grappling with a global shortage in semi-conductor chips and the fallout from the COVID-10 pandemic, although some markets like China are rebounding strongly, boosting rivals like Daimler.

Renault last year quit its main passenger car business in China due to weak sales there, and is more dependent on its core European market.

The Renault brand’s car sales by volume were up 1.1% from the first quarter of 2021, but this still lagged the 21.2% jump at German peer Volkswagen in the period.

De Meo, who arrived last July, has put the onus on producing fewer cars but focusing on those with higher margins, and is also carrying out cost cuts to try and redress the loss-making firm.

(Reporting by Gilles Guillaume and Sarah White; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Shounak Dasgupta)