Attributable profit decreased by 7.5%, to 11,348 million

The Volkswagen group posted a profit after taxes of 12,868 million euros in the first nine months of the year, 0.6% higher than the same period in 2022, as reported by the car manufacturer this Thursday.

Volkswagen's turnover grew by 16% between January and September, to 235,102 million euros, while its attributable profit decreased by 7.5%, to 11,348 million.

Likewise, between January and September the operating profit stood at 16,241 million euros, 4.9% less, with a profitability on billing of 6.9%.

The company has explained this decrease by a negative effect of 2,500 million euros due to the coverage of raw materials, which last year gave a profit of 800 million, while the interruptions in manufacturing and higher product costs have negatively affected during the third quarter, which has especially concerned the Core group of brands, which includes Volkswagen, Skoda, Seat/Cupra and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.

For this reason, the German consortium has pointed out that if the negative effect of raw materials coverage is not taken into account, the operating profit would be 18.7 billion euros, 2 billion more in the year-on-year comparison.

The financial director and chief operating officer of the Volkswagen group, Arno Antlitz, has assured that they cannot be satisfied with their profitability results, which did not reach their "ambitious objectives" in the last quarter. "Overall, we are on a solid path and have returned to increasing sales volumes and revenue."

The group's global deliveries increased by 11% in the first nine months of the year, exceeding 6.7 million vehicles. Volkswagen sold a total of 531,500 electric vehicles until September, 45% more.

The group's order book in Western Europe totaled 1.4 million cars, 150,000 of them electric, and the liquidity position of the automotive division reached 36,712 million euros, 16.3% more.

SEAT ACHIEVES A 'RECORD' OPERATING PROFIT OF 501 MILLION

The Spanish company Seat has achieved a 'record' operating profit in its history of 501 million euros between January and September, compared to the 10 million operating losses recorded in the same period a year ago, which has been driven mainly by the Cupra's success, higher sales volumes and efficiency improvements.

In the rest of the 'Core' brands, Skoda has achieved a positive operating result of 1,260 million euros (47.2), while the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles division has increased its operating profit by 88.8%, to the 672 million euros.

Among the 'Progressive' brands (Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley and Ducati) they have achieved sales revenues of 50,390 million, 13% more, although their operating result has decreased 26.9% less, with most of the decrease being the group's profitability results.

The financial services part of the company achieved an operating profit in the three quarters of the year of 2,535 million, which represents a drop of 42.1%.

Volkswagen expects to close the current year with global sales of between 9 and 9.5 million vehicles, a growth in turnover of between 10% and 15%, and an operating profit similar to that of 2023, with around 22.5 billion euros.