(AOF) – Europcar made a profit of 29 million euros in 2021, after recording a loss of 644.8 million a year earlier. The group benefited from the resumption of activity after the strict restrictions imposed in 2020 to combat the covid-19 pandemic, which in particular weighed heavily on the tourism sector. Corporate EBITDA, which serves as a benchmark for the vehicle rental group, stood at 284 million euros, against a loss of 172 million last year, for a margin of 12.5%.
In a context of vehicle shortages, the Group has deployed alternative solutions in terms of fleet management, using longer holding periods. Compared to 2020, the average level of the fleet in number of vehicles fell by – 8% to around 232,000 vehicles in 2021. The utilization rate jumped to 74.5%, well above the 2020 level of 61.5%.
At constant exchange rates, revenue amounted to €2.272 billion in 2021, up 28% compared to 2020 with the following breakdown by quarter: -36% in the first quarter of 2021, +89 % in the second, +45% in the third and +55% in the fourth quarter.
In the context of volumes still limited by the shortage of vehicles, an increase in the cost base (fleet and global inflation) and the difficulty in estimating the global impact of the Ukrainian conflict, the group is not able to provide insights for 2022 and beyond. However, he says he is on the right track in the deployment of his strategic roadmap.
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Automotive / Equipment manufacturers: A slow recovery
After a bad year 2020, some actors
expect a very gradual return to the level of activity prior to the crisis: not before 2024-2025.
The global pandemic weighed heavily on the accounts of Valeo, Faurecia and Plastic Omnium.
2020, a bad year for French equipment manufacturers.
All three ended 2020 posting losses, despite recovering in the second half. Faurecia recorded 379 million euros in losses last year. Its sales tumbled 35.4% in the first half, following the shutdown of automobile production in China, then in Europe and the United States. Its turnover fell by nearly 20%, to 14.6 billion euros, over the year as a whole and its operating margin rate fell from 7.2% to 2.8% .
Its competitor, Plastic Omnium, posted a decline in turnover of 16.7% in 2020, to 7.7 billion euros. Staff costs and general expenses were reduced by 240 million euros and investments by 27%. Including 250 million in asset impairments, its net loss reached 251 million in 2020.
Valeo suffered a drop in its turnover of 16%, to 16.4 billion euros, and a net loss slightly greater than one billion euros.
Hydrogen, a new El Dorado for equipment manufacturers
The production of green hydrogen is an alternative to electric batteries. Bosch, one of the world’s leading automotive suppliers, will invest by 2024 one billion euros in fuel cells, which transform hydrogen into electricity. The German group predicts that the green hydrogen market in Europe will represent nearly 40 billion euros by 2030, with annual growth rates of 65%. He estimates that the market for mobile fuel cell components, intended for vehicles, will represent around 18 billion euros by the end of the decade.
French automotive suppliers are also seeking to capture part of this market. Michelin and Faurecia rely on their subsidiary Symbio, which produces fuel cells. Plastic Omnium aims to become a world leader in hydrogen by 2030 and achieve 3 billion euros in sales by that date.