By Giulio Piovaccari
MILAN (Reuters) - Stellantis said on Tuesday it expected higher net revenue and a low-single digit operating income margin in the second half despite increasing headwinds, as the automaker aimed for a gradual recovery after a tough first half.
The company said its forecasts for the second half were based on tariff rules in place as of Tuesday and estimated an overall tariff impact for 2025 of about 1.5 billion euros, including 300 million euros incurred in the first half.
The Franco-Italian
group also forecast improved industrial free cash flow in the second half compared with the first six months, when it burned cash for 3 billion euros ($3.48 billion).
"Our new leadership team, while realistic about the challenges, will continue making the tough decisions needed to re-establish profitable growth and significantly improved results," new CEO Antonio Filosa said in a statement.
The Italian manager, a company veteran, was appointed in May after a disastrous performance in the crucial U.S. market in 2024 forced the ousting in December of former boss Carlos Tavares.
Stellantis in April withdrew its guidance for a moderate recovery this year after a profit drop in 2024, citing an evolving trade scenario and uncertain impact of U.S. tariffs.
Filosa, who faces the challenge of revamping product ranges and regaining market share and investors' confidence, was set to make his first official appearance as CEO in a results call with analysts later in the day.
NORTH AMERICAN REVENUES FALL
On Sunday, the United States and the European Union struck a framework trade agreement, imposing a 15% U.S. import tariff on most EU goods - half the threatened rate - and averting a bigger trade war.
Stellantis, however, is exposed to 25% U.S. tariffs on Mexico and Canada. Last year, more than 40% of the 1.2 million vehicles Stellantis sold in the United States were imports, mostly from the two neighboring countries.
For the first half, the maker of car brands including Jeep, Fiat, Peugeot and Ram broadly confirmed preliminary figures it released last week. They include a 13% drop in net revenues to 74.3 billion euros, an adjusted operating income margin of 0.7%, and a net loss of 2.3 billion euros.
Efforts to cut excess inventories in the U.S. brought net revenues in North America, historically Stellantis' largest and most profitable market, to just over 28 billion euros in the first half, below over 29.2 billion euros in Europe in the same period.
(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari in Milan and Gilles Guillaume in Paris; editing by Alvise Armellini and Bernadette Baum)
