Summary
- Adjusted EBIT rose to 960 million euros in first quarter
- Company expects 400-million-euro relief on US tariffs
- Q1 industrial free cash flow negative for 1,9 bln euros
- New long term business plan to be unveiled on May 21
MILAN, (Reuters) – Stellantis reported a near tripling in first-quarter adjusted operating income on Thursday, helped by U.S. tariff refunds, but a disappointing cash flow result sent shares in the Franco-Italian carmaker sharply lower.
The results underscore the challenges still facing Chief Executive Antonio Filosa, who was appointed last year to revive the automaker after several quarters of falling sales.
Filosa, who in February announced more than 22 billion euros in charges as Stellantis scaled back its electric-vehicle ambitions, is due to unveil the group’s new long-term business plan on May 21.
TARIFF REFUND INFLATES RESULT
Milan-listed shares in Stellantis, which tumbled more than 10% after the market open, were down 7.2% at 0840 GMT.
Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose to 960 million euros in January to March from 327 million euros a year earlier.
However, the group said a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in February that struck down some of President Donald Trump’s tariffs provided a boost of around 400 million euros, based on expected refunds.
Earlier this week, rivals General Motors and Ford reported expected tariff refunds of $500 million and $1.3 billion respectively. Stellantis now estimates a full-year impact from U.S. tariffs of 1.3 billion euros, down from 1.6 billion euros previously.
Adjusted EBIT in Stellantis’ key North American market, which came in at 263 million euros, would have been negative without tariff refunds, Bernstein analysts said in a note.
In Europe, Stellantis’ other major market, adjusted EBIT was almost zero, down from 292 million euros a year earlier.
CASH FLOWS SEEN POSITIVE ONLY IN 2027
Industrial free cash flow was more than 1.9 billion euros negative in the quarter, although an improvement from a cash burn of more than 3 billion euros a year earlier.
It was “more negative than expected,” Oddo BHF analyst Michael Foundoukidis said, noting that it only included 700 million euros in charges out of a total of 1 billion euros expected for this year.
“We maintain a cautious stance on Stellantis ahead of the Capital Markets Day scheduled for May 21,” he said.
Despite relief on U.S. tariffs, Stellantis on Thursday confirmed forecasts for 2026 it provided earlier this year.
They include a mid-single-digit percentage increase in net revenues and a low-single-digit adjusted operating income margin. Industrial free cash flow is expected to improve on last year, but only turn positive in 2027.
Thursday’s results mark the first time Stellantis has reported quarterly profit since its creation in early 2021 from the merger of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot maker PSA, having previously reported profit on a half‑year basis.
Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari in Milan and Gilles Guillaume in Paris. Editing by Alvise Armellini and Mark Potter
