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 €2.73 billion ($3.02
billion). But revenue increased 9.9% to €56.04 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
€3.49 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 €170 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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