Audi Group generates first-half operating profit of E2.9 billion
Ingolstadt (ots)
- Deliveries target of more than 1.4 million for 2012 confirmed
- CFO Axel Strotbek: "The high demand in the first half is a
testament to the success of our model strategy."
- New Audi A3 at dealers from end of AugustE25.0 billion revenue, an operating profit of E2.9 billion, and an 11.5 percent operating return on sales. These figures demonstrate how the Audi Group succeeded in adding yet another chapter to its success story in the first half of the year, despite weaker economic growth and the contraction of many car markets.
Axel Strotbek, Member of the Board of Management of AUDI AG for Finance and Organization, emphasized: "The high demand in the first half is a testament to the success of our model strategy." The Company delivered 733,237 (2011: 652,892) vehicles of the Audi brand to customers, an increase of 12.3 percent on the first six months of 2011. Demand was especially high for the new Audi Q3 as well as for the Q5, A6, A7 and A8 models.
The increase in deliveries pushed revenue up to E25,022 (21,526) million - a rise of 16.2 percent on the previous year. The Audi Group increased its operating profit by 13.2 percent to E2,876 (2,540) million. This was despite the stronger recessionary tendencies above all in southern EU countries. The operating return on sales of 11.5 (11.8) percent was thus kept at the high level of recent quarters.
Following the healthy first-half business performance, the Audi Group plans to deliver a total of more than 1.4 million cars of the Audi brand in 2012 as a whole. The Audi A1 Sportback, the Q3 and the new A3, which appears on the market in the late summer, will help Audi towards this goal and secure growing market shares in many sales markets.
The publication of the Interim Financial Report prompted CFO Strotbek to confirm another annual target of the Audi Group: "Provided the economic framework does not deteriorate further, we expect operating profit to remain on a par with 2011 despite higher expenses for new products, technologies and expanded production structures."
Interim Financial Report 2012 available from 10 a.m. CEST at: www.audi.com/interimreport www.audi.de/halbjahresfinanzbericht (German)
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The Audi Group delivered 1,302,659 cars of the Audi brand to customers in 2011. In 2011, the Company posted revenue of E44.1 billion and an operating profit of E5.3 billion. Audi produces vehicles in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm (Germany), Gy?r (Hungary), Changchun (China) and Brussels (Belgium). The Audi Q7 is built in Bratislava (Slovakia). In July 2010, CKD production of the Audi Q5 was added to the existing Audi A4 and A6 manufacturing operations in Aurangabad (India). At the Brussels plant, production of the Audi A1 has been running since 2010, while production of the new A1 Sportback began in 2012. The Audi Q3 has been built in Martorell (Spain) since June 2011. The Company is active in more than 100 markets worldwide. AUDI AG's wholly owned subsidiaries include AUDI HUNGARIA MOTOR Kft. (Gy?r/Hungary), Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. (Sant'Agata Bolognese/Italy), AUDI BRUSSELS S.A./N.V. (Brussels/Belgium), quattro GmbH in Neckarsulm and the sports bike manufacturer Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. (Bologna/Italy). Audi currently employs around 65,000 people worldwide, including around 48,000 in Germany. Between 2012 and 2016 the brand with the four rings is planning to invest a total of E13 billion - mainly in new products and the extension of production capacities - in order to sustain the Company's technological lead embodied in its "Vorsprung durch Technik" claim. Audi is currently expanding its site in Gy?r (Hungary) and will start production in Foshan (China) in late 2013 and in Mexico in 2016.
Audi has long been fulfilling its social responsibility on many levels - with the aim of making the future worth living for generations to come. The basis for Audi's lasting success is therefore formed by environmental protection, the conservation of resources, international competitiveness and a forward-looking human resources policy. One example of AUDI AG's commitment to environmental issues is the Audi Environmental Foundation. Within the context of "Vorsprung durch Technik," which extends far beyond its products, the Company is directing its activities toward a major goal - comprehensive CO2-neutral mobility.
Contact:
Corporate Communications
Julio Schuback
Spokesman for Finance and Organization
Tel: +49 841 89-38455
e-mail: julio.schuback@audi.de www.audi-mediaservices.com
Original-Content von: Audi AG, übermittelt durch news aktuell