Volkswagen cuts profit outlook on raw material hedges hit

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The company said it no longer expected an operating return on sales between 7.5%-8.5% in 2023, and that its operating result before special items was now seen at the prior year level of 22.5 billion euros ($23.8 billion).

Like many other industrial firms, carmakers hedge against commodity price swings, causing non-cash gains or losses depending on where these instruments are priced, usually at the end of each quarter.

In Volkswagen (ETR:VOWG_p)’s case, this led to a 2.5 billion euro non-cash loss that the carmaker “does no longer expect to be able to compensate” by the end of the year, it said.

The group also released some preliminary third-quarter results, showing that in the July to September period sales grew 12% to 78.8 billion, while operating profit was up around 14% at 4.9 billion euros.

The carmaker is due to release full quarterly figures on Oct. 26.

($1 = 0.9446 euros)