10:10 am, March 7, 2023
Volkswagen is predicting that group revenue for this year will increase by as much as 15 per cent to €331bn – circa £293.5bn – as a supply chain improvement boosts sales.
In a statement, the manufacturer said deliveries across the world are poised to go up by 14 per cent to approximately 9.5m vehicles.
It added that revenue is set to rise by between 10 and 15 per cent.
Operating return on sales is also forecast to be between 7.5 per cent and 8.5 per cent versus 7.9 per cent last year, according to Automotive News Europe.
It quoted chief financial officer Arno Antlitz as saying: ‘We expect the supply chain bottlenecks to gradually ease in the current year, allowing us to service the high order backlog.’
Deliveries dropped by seven per cent to 8.26m in 2022, caused by semiconductor shortages hitting production of big-volume sellers such as its Golf.
However, the group prioritised EVs for the hard-to-come-by components, which sent battery-electric car sales soaring by 26 per cent to 572,100.
But its upbeat forecast comes amid fears that demand will wane later in the year, as slowing economies and record inflation put more and more of a squeeze on car buyers’ spending power.
VW has proposed a €8.70 (£7.72) dividend per ordinary share and €8.76 per preferred share, which is €1.20 up per share on 2022.
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