Volkswagen boosts first-quarter profit, but warns about Ukraine, stock falls

Volkswagen said on Thursday that profit for the first quarter of 2022 will be much higher than the same period last year, but warned of the continuing effects of the war in Ukraine on exchange rates and commodity markets. .

At around 7:50 am (GMT), the German automaker’s common share was down more than 2% on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

In a statement, Volkswagen said its operating profit before special items was around 8.5 billion euros between January and March, with an operating margin on sales of around 13.5%, according to preliminary data.

In the same range of 2021, Volkswagen recorded operating profit of 4.8 billion euros. The automotive division’s net cash flow was approximately 1.5 billion euros in the first quarter.

The company stressed, however, that it is still not possible to predict the effects of the Russo-Ukrainian war with “sufficient certainty”. “There is thus still a risk that further developments from the war in Ukraine will have a negative impact on the Volkswagen Group’s business activities,” the automaker said.

Volkswagen also said there had been a significant impact on exchange rates, that the behavior of commodity markets was unpredictable and that supply bottlenecks could arise with the crisis.

The company also warned of the possibility of problems in the supply of semiconductors if the situation of the covid-19 pandemic worsens again. Volkswagen’s full quarterly balance sheet is scheduled for May 4.

Source: CNN Brasil

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