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Imminent driving bans in German cities, "Dieselgate" and declining sales in China: the world's largest automaker Volkswagen presents its third-quarter figures.
3:49 pm, October 28, 2018
In the midst of bickering due to the threat of driving bans in German cities, the world's largest automaker, Volkswagen, announced Tuesday (Oct. 30) its third-quarter numbers. After the good performance of the first half, the industry leader is also struggling with the new WLTP standard for exhaust and fuel consumption.
In September, Volkswagen's deliveries dropped significantly – and in the coming months, they should continue to weigh heavily.
Since September, only cars bearing the new label can be sold, but Volkswagen can not yet certify several models. The third quarter bands therefore remained partially inactive at VW. Financial director Frank Witter had suggested that the problem could easily cost the company a billion euros in the second half.
Dispute from hand: Chinese car buyers cautious
Another problem: because of the trade dispute with the United States, Chinese car buyers are cautious and waiting. Car sales have been falling for months. This has also been recently demonstrated by Volkswagen: all brands, China accounts for nearly 40% of shipments in the world and almost half of the main brand.
In addition, Audi, the high-end subsidiary, is fined 800 million euros for violating the rules applicable to diesel vehicles. The bill due to the manipulation of diesel emissions control is increasing to 28.2 billion euros – this has cost up to now the fines, regulations, provisions and fines known to the public.
The automotive industry is lingering alarmingly. Many vendors and manufacturers have recently shocked investors with profit warnings. The trade dispute between the United States and China weighs on the sentiment of the industry. In electric vehicles, companies invest billions.
Forecasted adjustment planned
NordLB badyst Frank Schwope therefore also expects a "prognostic adjustment" from Volkswagen. All the more so as he is considering additional risks of 10 to 20 billion euros in view of the almost incalculable legal consequences of the "diesel wicket" imaginable. Overall, Volkswagen is "not bad at all", despite the problems of WLTP, Schwope expects record sales of more than 11 million vehicles. In 2018, it forecasts an operating income of 15 billion euros, after 13.8 billion the previous year. In total, he expects a profit of about 11 billion euros (previous year: 11.4 billion euros) and a turnover of 238 ( 230.7 billion) euros.
Analysts expect a stable turnover of 55 billion euros in the third quarter. On the other hand, income before interest and taxes adjusted for exceptional items is expected to decrease by 27% to 3.15 billion euros.
VW is right with more than five percent
Volkswagen has been warning for some time against the cost of the new WLTP standard. These could make sure that less profit from sales gets stuck. On the revenue side, VW expects a benefit of up to 5%. Shipments are expected to grow moderately compared to the previous year.
Volkswagen shareholders expect positive spinoffs from the targeted IPO of the Traton truck and bus division. Porsche CFO Lutz Meschke recently brought a list of sports car manufacturer Zuffenhausen under discussion. There are no concrete projects for the Porsche brand according to the group.
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