Volkswagen AG — Earnings Release 2005

Apr 20, 2005

News Details

Ad-hoc | 20 April 2005 18:49

Volkswagen AG: Interim Report January-March 2005

Ad hoc announcement §15 WpHG Interim report Volkswagen AG: Interim Report January-March 2005 Ad hoc announcement transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. —————————————————————————— – Volkswagen Group operating profit of EUR 464 million (previous year: EUR 329 million) improves year-on-year, despite the difficult market situation – Automotive Division operating profit of EUR 234 million (previous year: EUR 98 million) increases substantially year-on-year; Financial Services Division operating profit continuing at high level of EUR 230 million (previous year: EUR 231 million) – January-March 2005 sales revenue 2.4% lower year-on-year at EUR 21.1 billion – Automotive Division cash flows from operating activities of EUR 708 million (previous year: EUR 1,374 million) reduced by the launch of new models – At 5.2%, ratio of investments in property, plant and equipment (capex) to sales revenue in the Automotive Division in the first three months of 2005 considerably lower than in 2004 (6.3%) – At EUR -1,664 million, net liquidity in the Automotive Division slightly up on 2004 year-end (EUR -1,734 million), despite higher inventory levels due to product program and seasonal factors – New model rollout successfully continued in 2005: – New Passat, Jetta, Polo, Fox (Europe), Bentley Continental Flying Spur, Audi A6 Avant and Audi RS 4 presented at international motor shows – Good start to sales of Golf GTI, Golf Plus, Phaeton six-cylinder diesel and Audi A6 Avant – Significant increase in worldwide unit sales of Touran, Fox and Skoda Octavia – Substantial growth in demand for Caddy, Multivan and Transporter January-March 2005 2004 +/- (%) —————————————————————————– Volkswagen Group: Deliveries to customers ‘000 units 1,183 1,206 – 1.9 – excluding China ‘000 units 1,068 1,034 + 3.2 Vehicle sales ‘000 units 1,166 1,273 – 8.4 – excluding China ‘000 units 1,070 1,118 – 4.4 Production ‘000 units 1,225 1,316 – 6.9 – excluding China ‘000 units 1,117 1,157 – 3.5 Sales revenue EUR millions 21,120 21,649*) – 2.4 Operating profit EUR millions 464 329 + 41.2 Profit before tax EUR millions 121 44 + 175.7 Profit after tax EUR millions 70 26 + 166.6 Automotive Division: Cash flows from operating activities EUR millions 708 1,374 – 48.5 Cash flows from investing activities EUR millions 1,279 1,742 – 26.6 —————————————————————————– *) Restated to reflect the reclassification of the income statement in the 2004 consolidated financial statements. As expected, the most important automotive markets experienced a relatively difficult start to 2005. Neither are we forecasting any significant change in the macroeconomic environment over the coming months, so we do not expect any improvement in the situation in the high-volume automotive markets in the short term. We believe that price pressure will continue unabated. In addition, the persistently unfavorable exchange rates and uncertainty about developments in the costs of raw materials, especially steel, will put further pressure on the automotive manufacturers. For the current year, we are expecting an improvement in our sales figures in the USA on the back of the full availability of the Audi A4 and Audi A6, as well as the current model changes for the Jetta and the Passat. We are convinced that following the start-up phase, we will gain additional market share in Western Europe from the launch of the new Passat, the Golf Plus, the new Polo and the Fox. In addition, the start of sales of the successor to the SEAT Leon and of the new Audi RS 4 will follow in the second half of the year. Based on the large number of new models we are launching in 2005, we believe that the Volkswagen Group will deliver a higher volume over the year as a whole than in 2004. The ForMotion program will continue to be systematically implemented to improve our competitive strength and cost structures; we are confident that we will achieve the target earnings contribution of EUR 3.1 billion for 2005. 2005 operating profit after special items will improve year-on-year – although the extent of this improvement depends on external factors that cannot be predicted today. The same applies to profit before tax. Wolfsburg, April 20, 2005 Volkswagen AG The Board of Management (The full interim report will be available at http://www.volkswagen-ir.de from April 29, 2005.) VOLKSWAGEN AG Brieffach 1970 38436 Wolfsburg Deutschland ISIN: DE0007664005 (DAX) WKN: 766400 Listed: Amtlicher Markt in Berlin-Bremen, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt (Prime Standard), Hamburg, Hannover, München und Stuttgart; EUREX; Amsterdam, Antwerpen, Brüssel, London, Luxemburg, Paris, Schweizer Börse (Hauptsegment), Wien, Tokio, Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Valencia und Mailand End of ad hoc announcement (c)DGAP 20.04.2005 201849 Apr 05