BERLIN, March 17 (Xinhua) -- The Volkswagen Group increased sales revenues by 7.1 percent to 252.6 billion euros (279.1 billion U.S. dollars) in the fiscal year 2019, the German car manufacturer announced on Tuesday.
At the same time, operating profit before special items of Volkswagen rose by 2.2 billion euros to 19.3 billion euros, according to Germany's largest car manufacturer. Volkswagen recorded "improved financial results in almost all brands".
"2019 was a very successful year for the Volkswagen Group," said Herbert Diess, chairperson of the board of management (CEO) of Volkswagen. "We have laid vital groundwork for all relevant changes."
Sales revenues at Volkswagen's core brand VW increased by 4.5 percent to 88.4 billion euros in 2019 compared to the previous year. At the same time, operating profit before special items rose from 3.2 billion to 3.8 billion euros, the German carmaker announced.
The diesel crisis led to costs of 1.9 billion euros at VW in 2019, according to Volkswagen. In 2020, further expenses for VW would be added after the settlement for diesel drivers from the test lawsuit in Germany.
Sales revenues at Volkswagen subsidiary and premium carmaker Audi declined from 59.2 to 55.7 billion euros in 2019 while operating profit at Audi declined slightly to 4.5 billion euros, the German car maker announced.
Volkswagen brand SEAT on the other hand "continued its upward trend" as sales revenues increased to 11.5 billion euros, exceeding the previous year's record figure by 12.7 percent.
The German sports car manufacturer Porsche also reported an increase in sales revenues of 10.1 percent to 26.1 billion euros while operating profit before special items improved by 2.4 percent year-on-year to 4.2 billion euros.
Following the announcement, shares of Volkswagen listed in the DAX increased by around 1.5 percent on early trading on Tuesday.
This year, Volkswagen is expecting group sales revenues to grow by up to 4 percent and forecast an operating return on sales in the range of 6.5 to 7.5 percent.
