Sales record for Audi in the first six months
Strong growth in the rapidly expanding market of China
Profit below previous year's level
Ingolstadt (ots)
In the first six months of this year, Audi recorded its best first-half result to date, with sales of 387,767 cars worldwide (January - June 2002: 382,478), 1.4 percent more than in the same period last year. Revenue was up by 1.8 percent to EUR 11,449 million (11,243). Profit before tax was down by 10.6 percent to EUR 505 million (565). Net profit totalled EUR 289 million (386). "Despite difficult underlying conditions on key markets, Audi has held its ground well. Now we have to gather speed in order to achieve as good an overall result for 2003 as possible," explains Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of AUDI AG.
Worldwide sales by the Audi Group (including the Italian trading company Autogerma) totalled 512,644 vehicles (519,504, down 1.3 percent). Car sales by the subsidiary Lamborghini rose by 39 percent to 239 units (172).
A total of 378,074 (363,174) cars (up 4.1 percent) and 693,217 engines (649,694, up 6.7 percent) were produced in the first six months.
On the rapidly expanding market of China, Audi succeeded in increasing its vehicle sales by a good 82 percent to 29,412 units (16,110). 121,033 (126,270) Audi models were handed over to customers in Germany (down 4.1 percent) and 168,528 (170,177, down 1.0 percent) in Europe (excluding Germany). In Great Britain, Audi's biggest export market in Europe, sales were up by 7.0 percent to 38,299 vehicles (35,801). Vehicle sales totalled 41,089 Audi models in the USA (42,195, down 2.6 percent). 5,777 cars were sold in Japan (5,485, up 5.3 percent).
The Audi Group workforce expanded by 3.1 percent to 52,348 employees (50,783, all figures as at 30 June). There were 44,761 employees (44,040) at AUDI AG, 4,888 (4,669) at AUDI HUNGARIA MOTOR Kft., 788 (789) at COSWORTH TECHNOLOGY LIMITED, 638 (565) at the Lamborghini Group and 711 (702) employees at AUTOGERMA S.p.A.
The full Interim Report can be accessed on the Internet at: www.audi.com/interimreport or www.audi.de/halbjahresbericht
ots Original Text: Audi AG Internet: http://www.presseportal.de
Communication: Corporate and Finance
Jürgen De Graeve,
Tel: +49 (0)841/89-34084,
+49 (0)172-9142908
e-mail: juergen.degraeve@audi.deDr. Ute Röding,
Tel: +49 (0)841/89-36384,
+49 (0)172-9107428
e-mail: ute.roeding@audi.de
Original-Content von: Audi AG, übermittelt durch news aktuell