Interim Report of AUDI AG
Ingolstadt (ots)
Dear Colleagues,
Audi has started the second half of 2000 with a flourish. Audi will produce a total of around 650,000 vehicles this year, its sales revenues are expected to increase to more than DM 30 billion.
All key figures for the first six month are at a high level. For your information please find enclosed the interim Report.
Yours Audi Business Press
Interim Report of AUDI AG
Audi markets The Audi Group sold 345,140 cars in the first half of 2000; this represents an increase of 7.6 percent on the corresponding period of 1999. This total was made up of 345,003 Audi and 137 Lamborghini cars.
Whereas vehicle sales in Germany fell by 7.9 percent in the first six months to 125,122 Audi vehicles, elsewhere Audi was able to report sales of 219,881 cars; this is 19.1 percent up on the figure for January to June 1999.
Demand for cars with the four-ring badge in the USA was particularly high: the market for imported vehicles grew by just over 14 percent - sales of Audi vehicles in the first half of 2000 soared by 42.9 percent.
This pattern was mirrored by the Japanese car market: although sales of foreign imports remained virtually constant, Audi sold 3,576 cars in the land of the rising sun, 17.0 percent more than in the first half of 1999.
Audi sales in China up to the end of June more than doubled compared with the prior-year period, with 8,374 cars delivered to customers. The Changchun-built version of the Audi A6, which was launched on the Chinese market in January 2000, has been instrumental to this success.
Audi cars were also in considerable demand in Great Britain and France: sales in these two countries rose by 17.1 and 23.3 percent respectively. The British market as a whole expanded slightly in the year-on-year comparison, and the French market grew by over 17 percent.
Major markets - Audi vehicles
Vehicle sales 1-6/2000 % change on Germany 125.122 -7,9 USA 40.372 42,9 Great Britain 23.216 17,1 Spain 22.480 8,8 Italy 22.099 -7,9 France 19.155 23,3 Belgium 10.936 2,7 Switzerland 9.139 11,1 Austria 8.482 0,1 China 8.374 126,6 Netherlands 7.094 9,6 Sweden 6.809 18,0
Increased vehicle production In the first six months of 2000, the Audi Group manufactured 327,301 cars. Production was thus stepped up by a further 3.9 percent on the prior-year period. This total was made up of 327,167 Audi models and 134 Lamborghini Diablos.
In Ingolstadt, Audi built 191,093 A3 and A4 models. 104,892 cars left the assembly lines in Neckarsulm where, in addition to the A6 and A8, the A2 and allroad quattro are now being built. The Rheine plant of Wilhelm Karmann GmbH produced 2,001 Audi Cabriolets. AUDI HUNGARIA MOTOR Kft. in Györ built 29,181 of the Audi TT Coupé and Audi TT Roadster jointly with the Ingolstadt plant.
In the anniversary year - 20 years on from the market launch of the quattro - almost every third Audi was supplied with this drive principle. Almost 40 percent of Audi models have a TDI engine.
Production output of engines in the first half of 2000 totalled 631,197 units, just short of the prior-year figure. AUDI HUNGARIA MOTOR Kft. manufactured 543,060 engines, and AUDI AG 86,204. COSWORTH TECHNOLOGY LIMITED built 1,799 engines for passenger cars, and Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. 134 engines for sports cars.
Higher sales revenues The Audi Group's sales revenues for the first six months showed an improvement of 10.7 percent on the corresponding period of 1999, rising to DM 15,905 million. This development was attributable to higher unit sales and more exclusive equipment specifications. The advantageous exchange rate for exports to countries which are not part of the European Monetary Union also had a beneficial effect on sales revenues.
Earnings before taxes at the end of June 2000 were DM 750 million, a shortfall of 6.9 percent on the previous year. This is principally due to the fact that COSWORTH TECHNOLOGY LIMITED and the Lamborghini Group had not yet been included in the consolidated first-half accounts for 1999. Both companies are still undergoing restructuring and therefore have a negative effect on earnings at present.
Audi stepped up its already high level of capital investments by 17.3 percent, to DM 1,220 million, in the period under review. Through a comprehensive product portfolio, the strengthened position in export markets, the systematic updating and extending of production facilities and a modern, innovative human resources policy, Audi has established the basis for further sound growth.
Audi creates more jobs In particular as a result of the launching of new products, the Audi Group workforce expanded by 4.0 percent in the first half of this year. At the end of June, the Audi Group had 48,402 employees. Of this total, 42,892 were employed by AUDI AG, 4,331 by AUDI HUNGARIA MOTOR Kft., 738 by COSWORTH TECHNOLOGY LIMITED and 427 by the Lamborghini Group.
Key Figures AUDI Group
1-6/2000 1-6/1999 Change in %
Production*
Cars 327.301 314.898 3,9
Engines 631.197 632.641 -0,2
Vehicle sales*
Cars 345.140 320.662 7,6
Western Europe 269.512 269.216 0,1
of which Germany 125.157 135.906 -7,9
Rest of world 75.628 51.446 47,0
Sales revenues
DM million 15.905 14.371 10,7
EUR million 8.132 7.348
Earnings before taxes
DM million 750 806 -6,9
EUR million 384 412
Capital investments
DM million 1.220 1.040 17,3
EUR million 624 532
Depreciation
DM million 1.206 921 30,9
EUR million 617 471
Cash-Flow
DM million 1.558 1.337 16,5
EUR million 797 683
Employees*
Average 47.892 45.007 6,4* Figures for the first half of 1999 have been adjusted to reflect the current reporting entity.
Key Figures AUDI AG
1-6/2000 1-6/1999 Change in %
Sales revenues
DM million 15.565 14.167 9,9
EUR million 7.958 7.243
Earnings before taxes
DM million 595 647 -8,1
EUR million 304 331
Employees
Average 42.415 40.195 5,5Note to editorial staff: The full Interim Report is available by telephone ++49 841 89 36189, post or e-mail (PDF-Data). In addition you can find the Interim Report in the Internet at www.audi.com.
Contact:
Communication: Corporate and Finance
Joachim Cordshagen, Tel: +49 (0) 841 89 36340, Fax: +49 (0) 841 89
36370
e-mail: joachim.cordshagen@audi.de
Juergen De Graeve, Tel: +49 (0) 841 89 34084, Fax: +49 (0) 841 89
36370
e-mail: juergen.degraeve@audi.de
Original-Content von: Audi AG, übermittelt durch news aktuell