November 3, Stellantis said on November 3, thanks to strong car prices and high sales of models such as the Jeep Compass, the company’s third-quarter revenue surged.
Stellantis third-quarter consolidated deliveries rose 13% year-on-year to 1.3 million vehicles; net revenue rose 29% year-on-year to 42.1 billion euros ($41.3 billion), beating consensus estimates of 40.9 billion euros. Stellantis reiterated its 2022 performance targets — double-digit adjusted operating margins and positive industrial free cash flow.
Richard Palmer, chief financial officer at Stellantis, said, “We remain optimistic about our full-year financial performance, with third-quarter growth driven by performance across all of our regions.”
Image credit: Stellantis
While Stellantis and other automakers are dealing with a weak economic environment, they are still benefiting from pent-up demand as supply chain challenges persist. Stellantis said that since the beginning of the year, the company’s vehicle inventory has ballooned from 179,000 to 275,000 due to logistical challenges, especially in Europe.
Automakers are under pressure to fund ambitious electric vehicle plans as the economic outlook dims. Stellantis aims to launch more than 75 all-electric models by 2030, with annual sales reaching 5 million units, while maintaining double-digit profit margins. It is reported that the company’s global sales of pure electric vehicles in the third quarter surged 41% year-on-year to 68,000 units, and sales of low-emission vehicles increased to 112,000 units from 21,000 units in the same period last year.
Palmer said on the conference call that demand in the U.S. auto market, which is the company’s biggest profit generator, “remains quite strong,” but the market continues to be constrained by supply. In contrast, “new orders growth has slowed” in Europe, “but total orders remain very stable”.
“Right now, we don’t have any clear indication that demand in Europe is softening significantly,” Palmer said. “As the macro environment is very challenging, we’re watching it closely.”
Delivering new vehicles to European customers remains a challenge for Stellantis due to semiconductor shortages and supply constraints caused by shortages of drivers and trucks, but the company expects to address those issues this quarter, Palmer noted.
Shares of Stellantis are down 18% this year. By contrast, Renault shares rose 3.2%.
Post time: Nov-04-2022