FRANKFURT -- Volkswagen Group is expecting an operating loss in the second quarter due the impact of the coronavirus pandemic but expects to be profitable on a full-year basis.
Overall, VW expects operating profit for 2020 to be severely below last year, but still to remain positive, the company's chief financial officer, Frank Witter said on Wednesday, as the automaker reported that the pandemic substantially impacted its business in the first quarter.
Operating profit in the first quarter fell 81 percent to 900 million euros ($977 million) from 4.8 billion in the same period last year, VW said in a statement on Wednesday. The drop was in line with preliminary numbers published on April 16.
First-quarter earnings before tax fell to 700 million euros, compared with 4.1 billion in the same quarter last year. Operating return on sales was 1.6 percent. Net liquidity was 17.8 billion euros after the first three months.
Earlier this month, the automaker withdrew its outlook for 2020 after its global vehicle sales dropped 23 percent to 2 million units in the quarter.
In February, VW had said it aimed to achieve customer deliveries in line with the previous year, revenue growth of 4 percent in 2020 and slightly higher passenger car deliveries.
- Click here to download VW Group's Q1 2020 report
- Click here to download VW Group's Q1 2020 report
- here
VW started to gradually ramp up output at its largest factory in Wolfsburg, Germany, on Monday, after reviving production at its Slovakian site in Bratislava, Slovakia, and in Zwickau, Germany, last week.
Reuters and Bloomberg contributed to this report
