Renault shares rose in morning trading on Thursday after the French carmaker said it would propose increasing its dividend per share for the fiscal year to 1.85 euros ($1.99), up from 0.25 euros previously .
Shares listed in Paris rose 6.9% as of 9:27 a.m. London time.
The company reported a full-year consolidated operating margin of 7.9% on Wednesday, at the high end of its previous forecast. The automaker reiterated its goal of achieving double-digit margins by 2030.
Group sales rose 13% to 52.4 billion euros, while net profit was slightly below forecasts, Portal reported.
The automaker is targeting a consolidated operating margin of at least 7.5% and free cash flow of at least 2.5 billion euros in 2024, up from 3 billion euros in 2023. The company said its focus will be on its “unprecedented” ten upcoming Vehicle launches are due to optimize its cost structure and accelerate its electric vehicle (EV) and software strategy.
See grafic…
Renault share price.
Renault shares have gained 2% so far this year, according to LSEG data. The company rallied in January after abandoning plans to list its new electric vehicle and software business, Ampere.
CEO Luca de Meo told CNBC's “Squawk Box Europe” on Thursday that Renault's forecast was “relatively cautious” and described the market as “challenging.”
“I think the pressure on electric vehicles will be strong, the price reductions that we've been seeing for a few months now… But we're also optimistic because we're going to launch ten models, basically one model every month.” so that we are entering a very favorable product life cycle, including for electric cars,” he said.
“Renault shareholders have welcomed the proposal to increase the dividend and are also clearly encouraged by the progress in improving operating margins to 7.9%,” Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said by email.
“It's no secret that things are still pretty tough in the electric vehicle space right now, and CEO Luca de Meo didn't shy away from the difficulties. Drivers are increasingly cost-conscious amid economic headwinds, and competitors have reduced prices.”