MICHELIN (CGDE) Like many companies operating in Russia, the Clermont-Ferrand-based group had announced last June, a few months after the invasion of Ukraine, its intention to hand over its Russian operations to local management by the end of 2022.
This plan has since been abandoned due to implementation difficulties, and Michelin has instead entered into discussions with a local player, which are still ongoing...
The cessation of Russian activity accounted for a quarter of the 6.6% fall in volumes recorded in the first quarter, the group said in a press release. In a teleconference with analysts, CFO Yves Chapot said the impact was one-third for passenger vehicle volumes alone.
"The sell-in markets of Europe and North America were characterized by a reduction in inventories in a context of improved supply chains, as opposed to the first quarter of 2022 marked by inventory rebuilding," Michelin added.
Despite this, consolidated sales for the quarter totaled 6.961 billion euros. The Group also confirmed its main targets for 2023, including sales volumes between -4% and almost stable - with a possible slight increase in the second quarter thanks in particular to the expected rebound in China compared with 2022 - and operating profit for the sectors in excess of 3.2 billion euros at constant exchange rates.
Growth in sales excluding tires - performance materials, fleet management - slowed to 15% over the last three months, compared with +22% in 2022, but Yves Chapot explained this difference by a lower price effect.
These new activities, which are expected to account for between 20% and 30% of the tiremaker's sales by 2030, remain "on a very positive trend", added Michelin's CFO. (Gilles Guillaume, edited by Nicolas Delame and Kate Entringer)
by Gilles Guillaume
