MILAN — Stellantis, the new auto group formed from the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group, said first-quarter revenue rose 14 percent to 37 billion euros ($44.5 billion).
Vehicle shipments rose 12 percent to 1.61 million during the quarter, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
Citi analysts described the results as “solid,” adding that “overall it seems likely that Stellantis profitability is running ahead of expectations.”
But production losses due to the industry’s microchip shortage prevented a stronger rebound from industrywide plant shutdowns to halt the spread of COVID-19 in March of last year.
Lost output amounted to around 11 percent of planned production in the first three months, or about 190,000 units out of 1.58 million, Stellantis said.
The automaker expects the global shortage of semiconductors to affect production this quarter more heavily than in the first three months. It said it had “limited visibility” over the impact on its full-year results.
“We do expect it [the shortage] to improve in the second half, but clearly I think it would be naive to expect it to just disappear,” CFO Richard Palmer told reporters on a conference call on Wednesday. “It is possible that it will leak into 2022,” he added.
The chip shortage is currently affecting eight out of the group’s 44 assembly plants, Palmer said.