From January through to the end of September, Skoda increased its worldwide deliveries to customers by 7.8% year-on-year to a new record of 939,100 vehicles.
Skoda Auto also achieved sales revenue of EUR12.6bn (US$14.34bn), an increase of 2.1% and the best result in the company’s history. The operating profit of EUR1.1bn remained high in the first three quarters, but was negatively influenced by high financial expenditures for new models, electromobility and higher personnel costs, Skoda said.
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In the first nine months of 2018, the Czech car manufacturer’s sales revenue increased by 2.1% year-on-year to EUR12.6bn (January to September 2017: EUR12.3bn). Skoda Auto’s operating profit declined by 10.2% to EUR1.1bn (January to September 2017: EUR1.2bn). Skoda Auto’s return on sales stood at 8.6% at the end of September 2018 (January to September 2017: 9.8%).
Skoda Auto Board member for Finance and IT Klaus-Dieter Schürmann said: “Skoda Auto is a successful, sustainably profitable company. The key factors for this are our active price and sales management as well as our consistent cost management. However, stricter emissions and CO2 regulations are posing major challenges for the entire automotive industry. The necessary financial expenditures for new products, electromobility and other future technologies as well as negative exchange rate effects are consequentially reflected in the current result. In addition, the rising personnel costs are due to the new collective agreement, which came into force in April this year. In order to counteract these negative influences, Skoda launched an additional result improvement programme in the first half of 2018.”
