Renault’s first-quarter sales fall, outlook still unclear

PARIS (Reuters) – French carmaker Renault on Thursday posted a 19.2% drop in first-quarter revenue to 10.13 billion euros ($10.97 billion), and said it was still too early to assess what impact the coronavirus crisis would have on its earnings this year.

The group, which had already cancelled its dividend and suspended its financial guidance, has been hit hard like rivals by the health crisis as demand for cars plummets, while many dealerships and production sites have closed.

Renault said it had 10.3 billion euros of liquidity reserves at end March, 5.5 billion euros less than at the end of 2019.

(Reporting by Gilles Guillaume and Sarah White; Editing by Himani Sarkar)