German car giant Volkswagen today posted strong third-quarter results and reaffirmed full-year sales and profit targets as growth in China and South America offset a weak performance in its domestic market.
VW's figures from the same time a year had been sharply reduced by restructuring and other one-off items, however.
For July-September 2007, net profit at the biggest European carmaker climbed to €947m, compared with just €23m the same time last year. Operating profit before exceptional items jumped by 53.3% to €1.46 billion, beating analysts forecasts.
In the group's crucial domestic market, sales decreased by 6% in the third quarter. Overall third-quarter sales grew by 3.8% to €26.1 billion, the group said.
VW reiterated its full-year pre-tax profit target of at least €5.1 billion, along with its sales outlook of more than 6 million vehicles.
The group's luxury car unit Audi contributed the strongest results, but VW vehicles also sold well, as did the Skoda, Lamborghini and Bentley brands.
Looking ahead, Volkswagen warned of lower growth in Europe 'with a fall in passenger car registrations in Germany and Spain.' North American sales would also drop, 'while the markets in China and South America will continue to record high growth rates,' the company said.
