Volkswagen Profits Tumble 81% In Third Quarter

Europe's largest carmaker Volkswagen said business remained tough after third-quarter earnings plunged on Thursday, while Japan's Mazda predicted a smaller full-year operating loss.

French carmaker Renault also published a drop in third quarter sales, but the year-on-year fall was less steep than in previous quarters, and it said positive trends seen in the second quarter carried on into the third. [ID:nLT85492]

Value brands like Volkswagen and Mazda have generally enjoyed a better year than premium names like Daimler's Mercedes-Benz thanks to government subsidies that have distorted underlying demand, including incentives to scrap old cars in exchange for buying new ones.

In a conference call, VW's head of group sales Detlef Wittig confirmed that the schemes were creating a slippery slope where customers were becoming used to low prices.

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VISO - 10/30/2009 12:42:24 PM

0 Boost

Audi sees Q4 operating profit exceeding 348 million euros

October 30, 2009 11:31 CET

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -- Volkswagen AG's premium Audi brand expects its fourth-quarter operating profit to exceed the 348 million euros ($515.8 million) earned in the third quarter, its finance chief said on Friday.

"We expect an earnings performance that is higher than that of the third quarter," Audi's Axel Strotbek said in a statement.

That would imply full-year operating profit of more than 1.52 billion euros versus the 2.77 billion it earned in 2008.

For the first nine months, Audi said its pretax profit was 1.4 billion euros, translating to healthy margin of 6.5 percent.

The entire Volkswagen group posted nine-month earnings before tax of only 1.07 billion euros, implying it would have posted a pretax loss without the help of its premium brand.

VISO - 10/30/2009 12:45:21 PM

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Audi's success saves parent VW group from 9-month pretax loss

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -- Audi demonstrated once again just how important it is for Volkswagen AG, revealing on Friday its parent group would have posted a loss before tax in the first nine months were it not for the premium brand.
The automaker, based in the southern German city of Ingolstadt, said in a statement its pretax profit reached 1.4 billion euros ($2.1 billion) in the first nine months of the year, translating to healthy margin of 6.5 percent.
The entire Volkswagen group, which includes the Skoda, Seat, Bugatti and Lamborghini brands, posted nine-month earnings before tax of only 1.07 billion euros, implying the group would have posted a loss without the help of the maker of the A4 sedan and R8 supercar.
Part of the reason for VW's low figure was a hefty 919 million euros

lexusrox123 - 10/30/2009 5:56:01 PM

+3 Boost

holy crap!

mini22 - 11/1/2009 1:49:30 PM

+3 Boost

Yes but how many auto companies in todays market are actually making a profit? You can probably count them on your fingers.

truckman - 11/2/2009 6:59:36 PM

+2 Boost

This could be due to VWs poor quality and reliability, did I mention cost to repair? It will take a while for VW to win us back.