The Audi Group is again on track for success in the new fiscal year: With over 412,000 deliveries of the Audi brand, the company has enjoyed its best first quarter ever. In the first three months of the current fiscal year, the Ingolstadt carmaker generated revenue of € 12,951 million and an operating profit of € 1,314 million. The operating return on sales reached 10.1 percent.
Audi made clear progress in all regions worldwide in the first quarter of 2014. The carmaker from Ingolstadt increased deliveries of the Audi brand by 11.7 percent to 412,846 (2013: 369,494) units. This led to an increase in revenue to € 12,951 (2013: 11,734) million for the Audi Group – a rise of 10.4 percent. The operating profit for the Audi Group reached € 1,314 (2013: 1,307) million.
“Despite high up-front spending on new products and technologies and the expansion of our international production network, we have generated an operating profit of € 1,314 million in the first quarter,” declared Axel Strotbek, Member of the Board of Management of AUDI AG for Finance and Organization. He explained that the operating return on sales of 10.1 (2013: 11.1) percent is again just above the strategic target corridor of eight to ten percent, supplying further evidence of the company’s high profitability.
The Audi Group achieved a profit before tax of € 1,398 (2013: 1,432) million.
In preparation for further growth, Audi intends to take on around 2,000 experts this year in Germany alone. The new employees will be recruited mainly for the lightweight construction, connectivity and electric mobility fields of expertise, or be involved in the expansion of the international production network. In addition, the company will be offering apprenticeships to around 750 young people in 2014.
Audi is moreover planning for growth in 2014 as a whole. The brand with the four rings will be introducing 17 new models and derivative versions into the market this year: The S3 Sedan and the A3 Cabriolet* are already in the showrooms. The new Audi A3 Sportback g-tron* and the fuel Audi e-gas mean customers can already drive in a largely CO2-neutral way. At the Geneva Motor Show in early March, the company also gave the S1* and S1 Sportback* models their first public showing. In addition, the third generation of the sporty design icon Audi TT* enjoyed its world premiere at Geneva. The Audi TT will provide an extra boost to growth in the current fiscal year.
For 2014 overall, the Audi Group expects to see a slight increase in revenue to more than € 50 billion. The systematic expansion of international manufacturing structures, rising up-front spending on new products and technologies as well as mix effects will initially diminish profit in the current fiscal year. At the same time, the positive trend in deliveries and revenue along with ongoing productivity and process improvements will impact operating profit positively. Overall, the company expects the operating return on sales to lie within its strategic target corridor of eight to ten percent.
Note:
Annual General Meeting of AUDI AG on May 22, 2014, Audi Forum Ingolstadt
* Fuel consumption of the models named above:
Audi S1:
Combined fuel consumption in l/100 km: 7,2 – 7;
Combined CO2-emissions in g/km: 166 – 162
Audi S1 Sportback:
Combined fuel consumption in l/100 km: 7,3 – 7,1;
Combined CO2-emissions in g/km: 168 – 166
Audi S3 Sedan:
Combined fuel consumption in l/100 km: 7 – 6,9;
Combined CO2-emissions in g/km: 162 – 159
Audi A3 Cabriolet:
Combined fuel consumption in l/100 km: 7,1 – 4,2;
Combined CO2-emissions in g/km: 165 – 110
Audi A3 Sportback g-tron:
CNG consumption in kg/100km: 3,3 – 3,2;
Combined fuel consumption in l/100 km: 5,2 – 5;
Combined CO2-emissions in g/km (CNG): 92 – 88;
Combined CO2-emissions in g/km (fuel): 120 – 115
Audi TT:
This car is not yet on sale. It has not yet been homologated and is therefore not subject to the 1999/94/EG guideline.
Provisional data:
Combined fuel consumption in l/100 km: 7,1 – 4,2;
Combined CO2-emissions in g/km: 164 – 110
The Audi Group delivered approximately 1,575,500 cars of the Audi brand to customers in 2013. In 2013 the company reported revenue of €49.9 billion and an operating profit of €5.03 billion. The company is globally operating in more than 100 markets with production facilities in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm (Germany), Győr (Hungary), Brussels (Belgium), Bratislava (Slovakia), Martorell (Spain), Kaluga (Russia), Aurangabad (India), Changchun (China) and Jakarta (Indonesia). Since December 2013, the brand with the Four Rings has been producing cars also in Foshan (China). In 2015, Audi will start production in São José dos Pinhais (Brazil), followed by San José Chiapa (Mexico) in 2016. Wholly owned subsidiaries of AUDI AG include quattro GmbH (Neckarsulm), Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. (Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy) and Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. (Bologna, Italy), the sports motorcycle manufacturer. The company currently employs more than 73,500 people worldwide, thereof more than 52,500 in Germany. Total investment of around €22 billion is planned from 2014 to 2018 – primarily in new products and sustainable technologies. Audi is committed to its corporate responsibility and has anchored the principle of sustainability for its products and processes in its strategy. The long-term goal is CO2-neutral mobility.
