PSA Peugeot Citroen’s CEO has indicated that the company will not get involved in the consolidation of the global auto industry.
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“PSA Peugeot Citroen has no plans to participate in the consolidation of the sector, not as an active player nor as a target,” Jean-Martin Folz was quoted as saying by Reuters yesterday (26 July).
He was speaking at a news conference after he announced the company’s first half results, which fell below target.
Consolidated operating margin was EUR691m, or 2.4% of sales compared with the target of around 2.8%. In contrast, PSA achieved a margin of EUR1,289m – 4.4% of sales – in the first half of 2005.
The company said the year on year plunge was because the impact of higher raw materials costs on the automobile division’s operating margin was far greater than expected.
Folz also said on Wednesday that the automaker has no current plans to close more plants as it tries to cut costs to return to higher profitability.
“After the closure of Ryton, I consider our industrial structure as fitting,” he said.
But, Folz did say that PSA needed to cut “structural costs” and this included fixed costs of all kinds.
