WOLFSBURG (dpa-AFX) - Volkswagen Group (VKW.L, VLKAF.PK, VOW.BE) reported that its earnings after tax for the first-quarter 2018 declined 2.2 percent to 3.30 billion euros from 3.37 billion euros in the same quarter last year.
Operating profit for the first-quarter decreased to 4.2 billion euros from the prior year's 4.4 billion euros, due to the negative effect resulting from a change in the reporting of the valuation of derivatives of derivatives (IFRS 9). Without this effect, the adjusted earnings were up slightly year-on-year.
But, group sales revenue for the first-quarter rose to 58.2 billion euros from 56.2 billion euros last year.
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles sales revenues grew 2.4 percent to 2.9 billion euros. Sales revenue for the Audi brand increased to 15.3 billion euros from 14.4 billion euros in the prior year.
In the first three months of 2018, ŠKODA was able to increase sales revenue by 4.9 percent to 4.5 billion euros.
At 2.8 billion euros, sales revenue for the SEAT brand was 11.8 percent higher than the same period of the previous year.
'The Volkswagen Group is in a robust economic position, our TOGETHER - Strategy 2025 is taking effect,' said Herbert Diess, CEO of Volkswagen AG.
Globally, the Volkswagen Group delivered 2.7 million vehicles to customers in the first quarter. This means an increase of 7.4 percent compared with the prior-year period. In March, the Group recorded more than one million deliveries, marking the highest number of unit sales in a single month thus far.
For the year as a whole, the Group expects deliveries to customers of the Volkswagen Group in 2018 to moderately exceed the prior-year figure. Challenges in the current fiscal year will arise mainly from the economic situation, increasing competition, exchange rate volatility and the diesel issue. In the EU, there is also a new, more time-consuming test procedure for determining pollutant and CO2 emissions as well as fuel consumption in passenger cars and light commercial vehicles (WLTP).
Sales revenue for the Volkswagen Group is expected to be up by as much as five percent on the prior-year figure. An operating return on sales of between 6.5 and 7.5 percent is anticipated for the operating profit.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX