Covid drags Renault into record €8bn loss in 2020

French carmaker Renault has announced a record loss of 8 billion euros in 2020 with profits driven downward by the Covid-19 pandemic, which also looks set to weigh on the 2021 outlook.

"After a first half impacted by Covid-19, the group has significantly turned around its performance in the second half," Renault said Eric PIERMONT AFP/File

Renault said in a statement that it recorded a net loss of 8.05 billion euros ($9.7 billion) last year, compared with a bottom-line profit of 19 million euros in 2019.

Renault said that its Japanese partner Nissan, in which it holds a 43-percent stake, accounted for 4.9 billion euros of the loss.

Full-year revenues were down 22 percent at 43.5 billion euros and vehicle sales slumped 21 percent to 2.95 million worldwide.

Nevertheless, "after a first half impacted by Covid-19, the group has significantly turned around its performance in the second half," the carmaker said.

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"The results for the second half...mark the first step in the group's recovery," said chief executive Luca de Meo.

However, "2021 is set to be difficult given the unknowns regarding the health crisis as well as electronic components supply shortages."

De Meo did not provide any specific forecasts for 2021, but insisted: "We will face these challenges collectively, keeping the momentum towards recovery we’ve been successfully engaged in since last summer".

(AFP)