China News Agency, Paris, July 30 (Reporter Li Yang) Many large French companies have been severely hit by the new crown pneumonia epidemic. According to the announcements issued on the 30th by aircraft manufacturer Airbus and car manufacturer Renault, both companies suffered heavy losses in the first half of this year.
Airbus said on the 30th that due to the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the delivery of commercial aircraft has been reduced by about half compared with a year ago. Airbus has a net loss of 1.9 billion euros in the first half of this year, compared with a net profit of 1.2 billion euros in the same period last year.
Airbus delivered a total of 196 passenger aircraft in the first half of this year, compared with 389 in the same period last year. Airbus Chief Executive Guillaume Forry issued a statement saying that the impact of the epidemic on Airbus's financial situation has been very obvious in the second quarter of this year.
It is estimated that air traffic will not return to the level before the outbreak in the short term, and Airbus has begun to reduce aircraft production. Airbus plans to produce 40 Airbus A320 aircraft per month, compared with 60 per month last year. At the same time, the production of A350 aircraft will be adjusted from 10 per month to 5 to 6 per month.
However, Airbus still hopes to increase the production of A320 aircraft in the future. Forry said that the production of A320 aircraft, which is considered to be the main force for short-haul flights, is expected to increase again in 2022, and the increase in production may also "start in the second half of 2021."
Renault said on the 30th that due to the severe impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic on the operations of global car dealers, the company's revenue has dropped significantly. The net loss in the first half of this year is 7.3 billion euros, the largest half-year loss in the company's history.
Renault warned of overcapacity in cars, requiring it to close or reorganize its four production bases in France, and respond to the impact of the epidemic through layoffs and other methods. In the first half of this year, Renault sold 1.26 million vehicles, down 34.9% year-on-year; revenue was 18.4 billion euros, down 34.3% year-on-year.
Renault CEO Luca de Mayo said in a statement that although the company's situation is "unprecedented", it can still be reversed. He confirmed that Renault will cut costs by 600 million euros this year and formulate a related recovery plan by January 2021.
In addition, the French national railway company (SNCF) reported on the 30th that due to the impact of the epidemic and the general strike, it had a net loss of 2.4 billion euros in the first half of this year, compared with a net profit of 20 million euros in the same period last year.
According to the new crown pneumonia epidemic data released by the French Ministry of Health on the evening of the 30th, France has 1377 newly confirmed cases in a single day on the 30th; there are still 5375 hospitalized patients, including 381 severely ill patients. The number of deaths from new coronary pneumonia in France is now 30,254. (Finish)