Volkswagen AG described its first quarter results as “satisfactory overall” in “a challenging market environment” as sales dipped a little to EUR46.6bn (Q1 2012: EUR47.3bn while operating profit fell to EUR2.3bn (EUR3.2bn), negatively impacted “by contingency reserves” for passenger cars and power engineering.
Pretax profit was EUR2.7bn (EUR4.2bn) but last year’s result had been positively influenced by the remeasurement of options related to Porsche.
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“As expected, business in the first quarter was dominated by the difficult economic environment. The markets were sluggish, especially in Europe, and not least in Germany. But we remain confident overall that we can pick up speed over the rest of the year”, said management board chairman Martin Winterkorn.
“Despite all the economic uncertainties, the group is standing by its goals for 2013.”
In a statement, VW said it expected to “outperform the market as a whole in a challenging environment and that deliveries to customers will increase year-on-year”.
Full year 2013 sales are expected to exceed 2012’s.
“Given the ongoing uncertainty in the economic environment, the group’s goal for operating profit is to match the prior-year level in 2013.”
