Audi Group posts growth in deliveries, revenue and earnings in first nine months

• January through September: 1,298,650 Audi cars delivered, €39.3 billion revenue and €3.8 billion operating profit
• CFO Axel Strotbek: “Audi is continuing along its growth path and is increasing its advance expenditure on new models and technologies.”
• Goal of more than 1.7 million cars delivered in 2014

Ingolstadt – Audi is right on track to achieve its goals for the full year. In the first nine months of this year, the Audi Group increased its deliveries by ten percent to a total of almost 1.3 million automobiles delivered to customers worldwide. The Ingolstadt-based company thus generated revenue of €39.3 billion and operating profit of €3.8 billion. Its operating return on sales for the period is 9.7 percent.

Axel Strotbek, Board of Management Member for Finance and Organization at AUDI AG, summarized the first nine months of this year as follows: “Audi is steadily continuing along its growth path while increasing its advance expenditure for new models and technologies.” This development shows that Audi is making good progress despite growing challenges in some markets. With an operating return on sales of 9.7 percent, the company is within its strategic target corridor of eight to ten percent.

In the first nine months of this year, the Audi Group delivered 1,298,650 cars to its customers: approximately 118,200 more than in the prior‑year period, representing growth of ten percent (Q1‑3 2013: 1,180,478). The Ingolstadt‑based company generated revenue of €39,281 million, an increase of 6.3 percent compared with the prior‑year period (Q1‑3 2013: €36,965 million). In addition to the strong appeal of the A3 family, Audi also benefited from robust demand for the full‑size and luxury models A6, A7 and A8. Furthermore, the SUVs of the Q model series were also very popular with the customers.

Operating profit for January through September increased slightly. Overall, the Audi Group posted operating profit of €3,831 million, representing an increase of €88 million or 2.3 percent (Q1‑3 2013: €3,743 million). Intensive advance expenditure for new models and innovative technologies and the consistent expansion of worldwide production structures had a negative impact on earnings. The operating return on sales for the nine‑month period is 9.7 percent (Q1‑3 2013: 10.1 percent).

By 2018, Audi will invest more than €22 billion, more than half of which will flow into the two German sites in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm. In the past two months for example, Audi opened the new R8 factory and a logistics center at the site in Neckarsulm as well as the driving and experience center near the company’s headquarters in Ingolstadt. But the brand is expanding its presence also outside Germany. In San José Chiapa in Mexico, Audi has just put a new training center into operation. Approximately 4,000 employees will be trained there by the time the new production plant goes into operation in mid‑2016.

The Audi Group achieved pretax profit for the first three quarters of this year of €4,568 million (Q1‑3 2013: €4,270 million) and an operating return on sales at the prior‑year level of 11.6 percent (Q1‑3 2013: 11.6 percent). Profit after tax for the period amounted to €3,435 million (Q1‑3 2013: €3,132 million).

In the third quarter of this year, the brand with the Four Rings delivered 429,295 automobiles to customers (Q3 2013: 400,281). The Audi Group posted third‑quarter revenue of €12,610 million (Q3 2013: €11,731 million) and operating profit of €1,160 million (Q3 2013: €1,100 million). Its operating return on sales for the third quarter was 9.2 percent (Q3 2013: 9.4 percent).

In full‑year 2014, the Audi Group intends to grow in all regions of the world and to strengthen its leading position in both Europa and China. With nearly 1.3 million Audi cars delivered in the first nine months of this year, the company has already matched the total volume of the year 2011. Its firm goal for 2014 is to deliver more than 1.7 million automobiles. Depending on the economic situation, the brand with the Four Rings expects to increase its revenue for the full year to more than €50 billion. Overall, the Ingolstadt‑based company anticipates an operating return on sales within its strategic target corridor of eight to ten percent.