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Growth Strategy
Corporate
Governance
Business Review
Corporate Policies
Management’s
Discussion
and Analysis
Statistics
Automotive Equipment R&D spending
totaled €616 million in 2002, representing
6.2% of sales. Excluding costs invoiced
to customers, the net amount was
€215 million, representing 2.2% of sales.
Net R&D spending was down by 16.1%
on the 2001 figure of €255 million,
corresponding to 2.7% of the division’s sales.
3.3. Operating margin - finance
companies
The finance companies’ operating margin
rose sharply in 2002 to €319 million,
marking the end of three years of flat
margins with €248 million in 2001,
€264 million in 2000 and €242 million
in 1999. Profitability was weakened in
2001 by the lower margins on new
contracts booked in 2000 and early 2001,
caused by the higher refinancing rates
that could not be fully passed on to
customers due to the stiff competition in
the European consumer loans market.
Lending margins improved rapidly in
2002, adding €35 million to operating
margin, while outstanding loans continued
to increase, adding a further €59 million.
Credit losses were reduced to 0.40% of
outstanding loans before securitizations
from 0.43% the previous year, representing
a low rate compared with the industry as
a whole and increasing operating margin
by €8 million. Overheads rose by €32.5
million, including €23.8 million attributable
to a change in the allocation of headquarters
expenses within the Group, and €8.7 million
corresponding to a 3.2% increase in costs
on a comparable allocation basis. This rate
of growth, which was significantly less than
the increase in outstanding loans, reflects
the initial benefits of the restructuring plan
that will gradually lead to the creation of an
integrated organization across Europe.
Operating margin also improved significantly
as a percentage of outstanding loans, rising
to 1.8% versus 1.6% in 2001 and coming
close to the 1.9% achieved in 2000.
3.4. Personnel costs
Personnel costs break down as follows:
(in millions of euros) 2002 2001 2000
Automobile 5,569 5,339 5,031
Transportation and Logistics 290 276 256
Automotive Equipment 1,877 1,745 1,111
Other businesses 184 178 177
Total manufacturing and sales companies 7,920 7,538 6,575
Finance companies 115 111 105
Total PSA Peugeot Citroën 8,035 7,649 6,680
Personnel costs rose by 5% in 2002, after
increasing 14.5% the previous year.
Excluding the €593 million in personnel
costs of Sommer Allibert, which was
consolidated for the first time in 2001,
the increase compared with 2000 would
have been 5.6%. These rises reflect higher
employee compensation (see 3.1 above)
and growth in employee numbers.
Employee numbers at December 31,
2002, 2001 and 2000 were as follows:
2002 2001 2000
Automobile 133,300 129,700 127,600
Transportation and Logistics 8,000 7,700 7,500
Automotive Equipment 52,200 49,700 31,900
Other businesses 2,900 3,300 3,400
Total manufacturing and sales companies 196,400 190,400 170,400
Finance companies 2,200 2,100 2,000
Total PSA Peugeot Citroën 198,600 192,500 172,400
PSA PEUGEOT CITROËN - MANAGING BOARD REPORT 103