Eyeing IPO, Geely’s Volvo Cars swings to profit in H1

The Volvo logo in the lobby of the Volvo corporate headquarters in Brussels.

Volvo Cars, the Geely-owned automaker, said on Friday it got back to profit for the January-June period, lifted by a strong market recovery from the last year’s pandemic plunge, and gears up for a potential IPO later this year.

The company has been boosted by growing demand for electric cars, but several automakers have been forced to cut production lately due to global shortages of semiconductors.

The Swedish carmaker reported operating earnings of $1.5 billion versus a loss of 989 million a year earlier, when results were heavily affected by the initial outbreak of the pandemic.

First-half profits also beat Volvo Cars’ profit of 5.52 billion crowns in the corresponding period of 2019, before the novel coronavirus struck.

“All our regions reported solid growth with improved market shares and our sales mix strengthened, with an increasing share for our SUV models,” Chief Executive Hakan Samuelsson said in a statement, adding the firm was keeping its second-half outlook for flat sales and revenue growth year-on-year.

The company, which is considering carrying out an initial public offering (IPO) before the end of this year, said earlier this month that first-half sales rose 41% to 380,757 cars.

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