Renault to take 3.6 billion euro hit from Nissan losses

PARIS (Reuters) - French carmaker Renault said on Thursday that losses at its Japanese partner Nissan, in which it has a 43% stake, would drag on its on net earnings by 3.6 billion euro ($3.96 billion) in the first quarter.

Renault, which posted its first net loss in a decade in 2019, has like Nissan been struggling with faltering sales, a slide exacerbated this year by the coronavirus pandemic.

The two firms, which this week announced plans for more production sharing under their three-way alliance with Japan's Mitsubishi Motors in a bid to cut costs, are also embarking on individual restructuring and savings plans.

Nissan posted an annual operating loss of 40.5 billion yen ($376 million) for the year to March 31, its worst performance since 2008/09, while net losses came in at 671.2 billion yen.

Renault is due to announce details of its turnaround plan on Friday.

($1 = 0.9083 euros)

($1 = 107.7100 yen)

(Reporting by Sarah White; editing by Jason Neely)