AP
Volkswagen AG: Profit 2018 has risen
Europe’s largest carmaker Volkswagen has the win in 2018 despite charges Diesel crisis and exhaust scandal increased. The operating result before special items climbed to 17.1 billion euros, as the Wolfsburg announced on Friday after a Supervisory Board meeting. In the previous year had 17.0 billion book. Analysts had expected this time on average with a slightly lower operating profit.
At 7.3 (previous year: 7.4) percent, the return was at the upper end of Volkswagen’s forecast range of 6.5 to 7.5 percent. Group sales climbed by 6.3 billion to 235.8 billion euros.
Worldwide, Volkswagen delivered 10.8 million vehicles to customers, a slight increase over the previous year.
The ordinary shareholders, including the largest, the Porsche and Piech families, the state of Lower Saxony and the Emirate of Qatar, are to receive a dividend of € 4.80 per share. The non-voting preference shareholders (the VW preference share is listed in the DAX) should flow 4.86 euros per unit certificate. Thus, the dividend increases by 90 cents: For the fiscal year 2017 VW had distributed the ordinary shareholders 3.90 euros and the preferred shareholders 3.96 euros.
Investors reacted with satisfaction: the Volkswagen Vz. Show stock market charton Friday increased by more than 1 percent. Afterwards, however, the profits crumbled again.
VW is aiming for increasing sales in 2019
For the current year, the world’s largest car maker in the moderately rising deliveries and an increase in sales in prospect. The Group is currently investing billions of euros in the construction of electric cars and the development of self-driving cars and new mobility services.
The carmaker is therefore expected to grow by up to 5 percent compared to the proceeds of 235.8 billion euros in the previous year. Deliveries are expected to increase slightly worldwide.
CEO Herbert Diess expects the return on sales of special items adjusted for special items to be between 6.5 and 7.5 percent after 7.3 percent in the previous year. Analysts had expected this on this scale. Over the past few years, however, billions of euros have been spent on coping with the diesel crisis.
“The headwind in key markets should be even stronger in 2019,” warned Diess before further problems. Especially in China, the most important single market, the car economy had recently cooled noticeably. Challenges arise in particular from the economic environment, increasing competition, volatile exchange rate developments and stricter WLTP requirements, it said.
la / reuters / dpa