$29 Billion, Net: Volkswagen Declares Record Profit

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Winterkorn gets honorary PhD. He deserves it

Despite a severe contraction of its European home market, Volkswagen today announced record earnings for 2012. The group delivered an after tax profit of €21.9 billion ($28.9 billion) up from €15.8 billion ($20.9 billion) in the preceding year.

The after tax result “includes the clearly positive effects from the final measurement of the put/call rights relating to Porsche as of July 31, 2012,” as Volkswagen says. However, an operating profit of €11.5 billion ($15.2 billion) isn’t half bad. Insiders expected a hit on the operating results due to alleged predatory dumping in Europe, but it wasn’t the case.

Maybe it was. Sales rose from €159.3 billion ($210.5) in 2011 to €192.7 billion ($254.6) in 2012. The operating profit on the other hand remained relatively flat, going from €11.3 billion in 2011 to €11.5 billion in 2012. As long as you can afford being a predator, go for it.

What is even more interesting is the guidance Volkswagen gave today: “Given the pressures resulting from the difficult environment the Volkswagen Group’s goal for operating profit is to match the prior-year level in 2013. Deliveries to customers and sales revenue are to increase year-on-year.“

January – December20122011+/- (%)Volkswagen Group (IFRSs):Deliveries to customers‘000 units9,2768,26512.2Vehicle sales‘000 units9,3458,36111.8Production‘000 units9,2558,4949EmployeesDec. 31549,763501,9569.5Sales revenueEUR million192,676159,33720.9Operating profitEUR million11,51011,2712.1Profit before taxEUR million25,49218,92634.7Profit after taxEUR million21,88415,79938.5Noncontrolling interestsEUR million168391-57Profit attributable to shareholders of Volkswagen AGEUR million21,71715,40940.9
Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • NorthwestT NorthwestT on Feb 22, 2013

    Maybe now those guys can get some suits that fit. And yeah, what Buickman said.

  • JSF22 JSF22 on Feb 24, 2013

    You sure can get a lot of honorary degrees just by saying "yes" to Ferdinand Piech. Which, as it has turned out, has been a pretty good thing for Winterkorn to do. Piech inherited a company that was really only good at creating jobs for Germans and turned it into what is by nearly any measure the most successful automobile manufacturer the world has known, often by building incredibly good cars. If that takes them to the top in volume, great ... but I think we've seen plenty of examples of what chasing volume for its own sake accomplishes.

  • ToolGuy This might be a good option for my spouse when it becomes available -- thought about reserving one but the $500 deposit is a little too serious. Oh sorry, that was the Volvo EX30, not the Mustang. Is Volvo part of Ford? Is the Mustang an EV? I'm so confused.
  • Mikey My late wife loved Mustangs ..We alway rented one while travelling . GM blood vetoed me purchasing one . 3 years after retirement bought an 08 rag top, followed by a 15 EB Hard top, In 18 i bought a low low mileage 05 GT rag with a stick.. The car had not been properly stored. That led to rodent issues !! Electrical nightmare. Lots of bucks !! The stick wasn't kind to my aging knees.. The 05 went to a long term dedicated Mustang guy. He loves it .. Today my garage tenant is a sweet 19 Camaro RS rag 6yl Auto. I just might take it out of hibernation this weekend. The Mustang will always hold a place in my heart.. Kudos to Ford for keeping it alive . I refuse to refer to the fake one by that storied name .
  • Ajla On the Mach-E, I still don't like it but my understanding is that it helps allow Ford to continue offering a V8 in the Mustang and F-150. Considering Dodge and Ram jumped off a cliff into 6-cylinder land there's probably some credibility to that story.
  • Ajla If I was Ford I would just troll Stellantis at all times.
  • Ronin It's one thing to stay tried and true to loyal past customers; you'll ensure a stream of revenue from your installed base- maybe every several years or so.It's another to attract net-new customers, who are dazzled by so many other attractive offerings that have more cargo capacity than that high-floored 4-Runner bed, and are not so scrunched in scrunchy front seats.Like with the FJ Cruiser: don't bother to update it, thereby saving money while explaining customers like it that way, all the way into oblivion. Not recognizing some customers like to actually have right rear visibility in their SUVs.
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