PARIS (Reuters) – French car maker Renault said on Thursday revenues had grown by 30% in the first quarter thanks to a rebound in sales and higher prices.
Boosted by the launch of several premium models, including the electric version of Megane, Arkana and Austral, the group posted a 14.1% increase in sales over the period to 535,000 units, after four consecutive years of declines.
Revenues came in at 11.5 billion euros ($12.60 billion), compared with an analyst consensus of 11.08 billion euros provided by the company.
Renault confirmed its targets for 2023, with the group operating margin seen at least at 6% and an automotive operational free cash flow of at least 2 billion euros.
It said its orderbook in Europe stood at 3.3 months of sales at the end of Q1, and would remain above the target of 2 months through 2023.
($1 = 0.9127 euros)
(Reporting by Gilles Guillaume, editing by Silvia Aloisi)
