Volkswagen may report an eighth consecutive quarterly profit decline as sales in China shrank and US losses mounted, according to Bloomberg News.
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Net income at the Wolfsburg, Germany-based company probably fell 57% to €131.5 million ($US170 million) in the fourth quarter, according to the median estimate of 12 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg – sales rose about 1.6% to €23.4 billion, the survey showed.
The report noted that Volkswagen’s market share in China, its second-largest market, shrank by half over the past five years as General Motors and Toyota expanded production and lowered prices – the German company is responding by offering new models such as an updated version of the Passat sedan, freezing wages for workers in Germany and cost cutting.
“The products are boring and they must cut costs,” Michael Schneider, a fund manager at Frankfurt-based Deka Investment, told Bloomberg News, adding: “The company has been asleep in the US for the past few years.”
Earnings estimates in the Bloomberg News survey ranged from a loss of €11 million euros to a profit of €275 million euros.
Volkswagen releases earnings on February 14 before the market opens and earned €305 million euros in the year-earlier period, the report added.
