(new: share price updated, forecast details, management statements, analyst.)
WOLFSBURG (dpa-AFX) - Volkswagen has started 2025 with a slump in profits following a weak previous year. Europe's largest carmaker reported a year-on-year decline in profits of just under 41 percent to 2.19 billion euros in the first quarter, the company announced in Wolfsburg. The group is sticking to its annual forecast, but is slightly more pessimistic within the target range – and is still excluding the impending burdens from US President Donald Trump's tariff policy.
The group currently expects its operating return on sales, free cash flow in the automotive business, and net liquidity to be at the lower end of the respective target ranges in 2025, VW announced on Wednesday. It is too early to provide specific details on the financial impact of US import tariffs, said CFO Arno Antlitz in a conference call.
The VW Group is currently in talks with those responsible for US trade policy. Antlitz said he could not comment publicly on the matter, but added that the Group was considering expanding production and making further investments in the US. However, VW currently intends to stick to its investment budget of €165 billion for the next five years.
The Volkswagen preferred share, which is listed on the DAX, remained unchanged at midday. The forecast still does not contain any details on tariffs, wrote analyst Philippe Houchois of the US investment bank Jefferies. The VW subsidiary Audi performed surprisingly poorly in the first quarter. At least the decline in the investment ratio in the VW Group is encouraging.
In addition to the already known special charges amounting to billions, the quarterly results were also negatively impacted by the fact that the group once again earned significantly less in the important Chinese market with its joint ventures there. VW posted a higher loss in its battery business. However, the already known disappointing results of Porsche, previously a source of high returns, also had a negative impact. Group sales, on the other hand, rose by just under 3 percent to 77.6 billion euros.
Volkswagen had already presented preliminary figures for its day-to-day business. Special issues such as CO2 provisions in Europe, the restructuring of software subsidiary Cariad, and reserves for the diesel scandal resulted in special costs of around 1.1 billion euros, causing operating profit to slump by around 37 percent to 2.9 billion euros.
"As expected, the Volkswagen Group has started the fiscal year with mixed results," said CFO Antlitz. "Our cars are very well received by our customers. Order intake in Western Europe has risen significantly, and our order books are filling up quickly." Sales of electric cars have increased significantly in Western Europe.
"Precisely because the global economic environment is so uncertain at present, we must focus on the things we can influence ourselves," said Antlitz. "This means that we must ensure a competitive cost structure for our strong range of vehicles so that we can remain successful even in a rapidly changing world."/men/bvi/nas/stk
