Volkswagen Revenue and Profit Fall As Deliveries Tick Up

In Volkswagen'sVolkswagenGermany, 1938 > present98 models
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quarterly financial report it revealed that revenue, profit and profit after tax had all fallen in the first three months of the year compared to last year. However, unit deliveries were up. It an expecting that by the end of the year deliveries will be up over last year, but profits may not be as high as last year. It believes that its new MQB modular platform will reduce costs.

“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 Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Volkswagen Group Chairman.

Volkswagen made €46.4 billion in the first quarter of 2013 compared to €47.3 billion in the first quarter of 2012, a 1.6% decrease. Total operating profit was €2.344 billion for the quarter compared to €3.165 billion last year, down 26%. Profit after tax for the first quarter was €1.946 billion compared to €3.148 billion last year, a 38.2% decrease. 

Volkswagen explains that the strong figures last year are because of the options it had on PorschePorscheGermany, 1931 > present43 models
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. The lower figures do not necessarily mean that Volkswagen is significantly worse off in the first quarter of the year. 

Sales for the first quarter hit 2.3 million cars worldwide, a 4.8% improvement over the first quarter of last year. It also added 2,662 new employees in the first quarter and now has 552,425 employees worldwide.

The report also discussed Volkswagen's sustainability. The energy and water consumption at its factories have been reduced by 10% in the last two years, and the average CO2 emissions of its cars in Europe has fallen from 144g/m of CO2 to 134g/km of CO2 since 2010. Its goal is that every new Volkswagen Group vehicle is 10% to 15% more efficient than the vehicle that it replaces.