Sales And Profits Tumble At Volkswagen

Volkswagen (LSE: 0P6N.L - news) has reported profit before tax of £2.4bn for the first quarter of the year - a 19.3% fall compared with 2015.

Sales revenue at the troubled carmaker, which has become embroiled in an international emissions scandal, was also down 3.4% to £37.8bn.

Although the number of vehicles delivered to customers edged up by 0.8% to 2.5 million, deliveries of passenger cars to the UK have fallen to 144,000 - a decline of 1.5% on the first three months of last year.

In a statement, the group's chief executive, Matthias Mueller, said: "We once again managed to limit the economic effects of the diesel issue and achieve respectable results under difficult conditions."

Volkswagen Group has warned that it expects sales revenue for the whole of 2016 to be up to 5% lower than last year.

It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) cited challenging economic conditions in South America and Russia, exchange rate fluctuations, and the ongoing expenses associated with recalling and fixing cars which contained illegal software designed to trick emissions tests.

In Russia, the plummeting rouble and the low price of oil contributed to a 35% fall in sales of VW vehicles, while a deep recession in Brazil led to a 17% drop in sales there.

The number of Volkswagen cars sold in the first quarter of 2016 was down 4.3% on last year, and Audi (LSE: 0FG8.L - news) 's sales volume was flat.

There was also a 30% decrease in sales of Bentley vehicles, but Porsche managed to buck the trend with a 16% increase.

The company's interim report also revealed that £80m has been set aside to replace potentially faulty airbags which had been manufactured and supplied by Takata (Frankfurt: 7TK.F - news) .

So far, Volkswagen has set aside more than £12bn to address the emissions cheating scandal, which affected 11 million vehicles worldwide.