Volkswagen Q3 earnings weighed down by cost of Porsche listing, Argo AI
Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) reported earnings of 4.3 billion euros ($4.29 billion) in the third quarter with an earnings margin of 6%, weighed down by 1.6 billion in one-off effects from suspending activities in Russia and listing Porsche AG (P911_p.DE).
It also suffered a 1.9 billion euro non-cash impairment charge resulting from the write-down of its investment in Argo AI, a self-driving startup it jointly owned with Ford Motor Co (F.N) until both companies shifted spending away from the business on Wednesday.
Still, Volkswagen maintained its outlook for the year of hitting the upper end of a 7-8.5% earnings margin, as a strong recovery in the Chinese market and easing of semiconductor supply issues boosted sales.
However, Europe’s top carmaker now expects deliveries to be around the same as last year, having previously forecast a 5-10% rise, after reporting earlier this month that deliveries were down 12.9% in the first nine months.
