VOLKSWAGEN GROUP RECORDS SUCCESSFUL PERFORMANCE IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2015
• Sharp year-on-year rise in sales revenue to EUR 108.8 billion (EUR 98.8 billion);
positive impact from exchange rates and mix effects
• Operating profit before special items rises to EUR 7.0 billion (EUR 6.2 billion)
• Equity-accounted profit of the Chinese joint ventures level year-on-year
• Net liquidity in Automotive Division increases to EUR 21.5 billion
• CEO Dr. Winterkorn: “Volkswagen very well positioned in an increasingly
difficult market environment”
The Volkswagen Group reported considerable growth in sales revenue and earnings in the first six months of the year in a very challenging environment. Sales revenue rose by 10.1 percent to EUR 108.8 billion (EUR 98.8 billion) in the first half of the year, primarily due to exchange rate effects and an improved product mix. Operating profit before special items grew by 13.0 percent to EUR 7.0 billion (EUR 6.2 billion). Restructuring measures in the trucks business led to an operating profit after special items of EUR 6.8 billion (EUR 6.2 billion). The operating return on sales remained stable at 6.3 percent (6.3 percent). The Group’s operating profit and sales revenue exclude the activities of the Chinese joint ventures, which are accounted for in the financial result using the equity method. At EUR 2.7 billion (EUR 2.6 billion), the share of operating profit attributable to the Chinese joint ventures was level year-on-year in the first half of 2015.
“Our results for the first half of the year show that Volkswagen remains very well positioned in an increasingly difficult market environment and has a compelling product range”, said Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, in Wolfsburg on Wednesday. “We are keeping a very close watch on global macroeconomic trends, especially where there are uncertainties such as in the Chinese, Brazilian and Russian markets.”
The Volkswagen Group’s profit before tax remained almost level at EUR 7.7 billion (EUR 7.8 billion) despite the negative effects from fair value measurement in the financial result. Profit after tax remained unchanged as against the prior-year period, at EUR 5.7 billion (EUR 5.7 billion).
“The difficult market environment and fierce competition, as well as interest rate and exchange rate volatility and fluctuations in raw materials prices all pose challenges. We are systematically implementing our efficiency program and are continuing to roll out the modular toolkits. We expect considerable positive effects in both instances”, said CFO Hans Dieter Pötsch.
