By Friedrich Geiger
BERLIN-- Volkswagen AG's after-tax earnings slipped in the
second quarter because of weakness in China and restructuring
charges in its trucks business, Europe's largest car maker by sales
said Wednesday.
After-tax profit declined almost 16% to EUR2.73 billion ($3.02
billion). But revenue increased 9.9% to EUR56.04 billion, helped by
exchange rate effects and a higher share of expensive vehicles
among the cars sold. The company's operating profit rose 4.9% to
EUR3.49 billion, excluding the Chinese ventures.The company didn't
disclose net profit attributable to shareholders.
Volkswagen is integrating its three truck brands MAN, Scania and
VW. MAN booked EUR170 million in restructuring provisions in the
quarter.
Volkswagen confirmed its prediction of a full-year operating
profit margin of between 5.5% and 6.5% for the group, and 6.0% to
7.0% for the passenger cars business.
"The difficult market environment and fierce competition, as
well as interest-rate and exchange-rate volatility, and
fluctuations in raw materials prices all pose challenges," said
Chief Financial Officer Dieter Poetsch.
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