Audi Group substantially increases operating profit in first quarter
-Operating profit of 478 million euros in first quarter – 30 percent more than in 2009
-Strotbek: “The 5.8 percent operating return on sales demonstrates the stable earning power of the Audi Group in its competitive environment.”
INGOLSTADT, Germany, May 3, 2010 - The Audi Group has underlined its strength in the premium segment with an increase in operating profit well above its rise in revenue. The models of the brand with the four rings achieved double-digit growth rates in all regions in the first quarter. Total deliveries of 264,100 units were 25.9 percent up on the previous year.
Audi profited significantly from the success of its models in many regions of the world to produce a strong performance in the first quarter of the current year. In the first three months the Group generated revenue of 8,260 million euros (2009: 6,700 million euros), representing a 23.3 percent rise against the same period of last year.
Operating profit rose more than 30 percent to 478 million euros (2009: 363 million euros), clearly outperforming the rise in revenue. “This very good result impressively demonstrates the success of our efforts to optimize costs on a sustained basis at all our sites,” comments Axel Strotbek, Member of the Board of Management for Finance and Organization at AUDI AG. The operating return on sales of 5.8 percent (2009: 5.4 percent) also once again underlines the Company’s outstanding position within the automotive sector.
“The first-quarter result is a sound foundation for us to attain our goal of surpassing our 2009 revenue and operating profit levels,” Strotbek states. Audi is again targeting deliveries of over one million in 2010, following on from its record year in 2008.
Audi will once again be pursuing its model initiative at a rapid pace through the current year. The brand with the four rings will be bringing a total of 12 new models to market in 2010, including the recently launched new flagship A8, the R8 Spyder, the A7 Sportback and the A1, the first Audi premium model in the small car segment.
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