Volkswagen: final earnings report brings no surprises

(CercleFinance.com) - Volkswagen issued this morning its final earnings report for 2018, although the release failed to kick-start the German carmaker's shares in Frankfurt.


In the statement, VW said revenue rose by 6.8% to 84.6 billion euros in the past year, while operating profit before special items fell to 3.2 billion euros, from 3.3 billion euros in 2017.

The company said higher expenses resulting from the environmental bonus, FX factors and the implementation of the electric mobility campaign weighed on performance.

For 2019, Volkswagen said it expects group sales to grow by as much as 5%. Meanwhile, regarding operating profit, Volkswagen forecasts an operating return on sales in a range of 6.5%-7.5% in 2019.

In comparison, operating return reached 3.8% last year.

The auto giant also announced plans to accelerate its strategy in electric vehicles. It plans to make almost 70 new models by 2028 - ahead of the 50 previously planned.

However, this news did not seem to help market sentiment this morning: the VW share is currently down 1.1% in Frankfurt.

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