Audi Group Generates Nine-month Operating Profit of € 4.2 Billion

INGOLSTADT, Germany, October 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

• Revenue of € 37.7 billion for January through September
• CFO Axel Strotbek: "After three quarters of the year, we are still well on track to reach our target for the year."
• Substantial rise in Audi deliveries: up 12.8 percent

The Audi Group is fully on course to achieve its target for the year. By the end of the third quarter, the Company had already delivered 1,097,540 (2011: 973,154) cars of the Audi brand to customers. Overall, the Audi Group generated revenue of € 37.7 (2011: 32.4) billion - a rise of 16.3 percent. This performance contributed towards a 6.1 percent increase in the Company's operating profit to € 4.2 (2011: 4.0) billion, representing an operating return on sales of 11.2 (2011: 12.2) percent.  

Upon publication of the Third Quarter Report, Axel Strotbek, Member of the Board of Management of AUDI AG for Finance and Organization, commented: "After three quarters of the year, we are still well on track to reach our target for the year." 2012 will see the Company deliver over 1.4 million vehicles. Revenue will increase correspondingly, keeping the operating profit up on a par with the previous year.

The automaker continued to make good progress in the third quarter of the current fiscal year, delivering a total of 364,303 (2011: 320,262) cars of the Audi brand to customers. These brought in revenue amounting to some
€ 12.6 (2011: 10.9) billion - a year-on-year rise of 15.7 percent. The operating profit of € 1.3 (2011: 1.4) billion almost matched the previous year's high level. The operating return on sales was 10.5 (2011: 13.1) percent.

The performance over the first three quarters is above all attributable to substantially increased volume. The intensification of research and development activities as well as strategic market development programs, such as the Audi City retail concept which was opened in July, pushed up costs. On the other hand, Strotbek highlighted that higher productivity, improved processes and exchange rates favoring the Company had impacted profits positively.

Despite increased expenditure for new products and technologies of the future, the ongoing expansion of manufacturing structures and a tougher competitive environment, the Audi Group aims to remain among the automotive industry's world leaders for profitability at year-end.

With new models such as the Audi Q3 and the A1 Sportback, Audi intends to attract more customers to the brand in 2012. In the first nine months of the current fiscal year, the Company was able to increase its deliveries of vehicles worldwide by
12.8 percent. The new generation of the Audi A3 should likewise smooth the path to success for the brand. This three-door model has been on sale since the end of August. The new Audi A3 Sportback was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in September and will start arriving at dealers from early 2013.  

Publication of the Third Quarter Report 2012 at 10 a.m. CET at:

http://www.audi.de/zwischenmitteilung2012_q3

http://www.audi.com/quarterly-report2012_q3 (English)

The Audi Group delivered 1,302,659 cars of the Audi brand to customers in 2011. In 2011, the Company posted revenue of €44.1 billion and an operating profit of €5.3 billion. Audi produces vehicles in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm (Germany), Győr (Hungary), Changchun (China) and Brussels (Belgium). The Audi Q7 is built in Bratislava (Slovakia). In July 2010, CKD production of the Audi Q5 was added to the existing Audi A4 and A6 manufacturing operations in Aurangabad (India). At the Brussels plant, production of the Audi A1 has been running since 2010, while production of the new A1 Sportback began in 2012. The Audi Q3 has been built in Martorell (Spain) since June 2011. The Company is active in more than 100 markets worldwide. AUDI AG's wholly owned subsidiaries include amongst others AUDI HUNGARIA MOTOR Kft. (Győr/Hungary), Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. (Sant'Agata Bolognese/Italy), AUDI BRUSSELS S.A./N.V. (Brussels/Belgium), quattro GmbH in Neckarsulm and the sports bike manufacturer Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. (Bologna/Italy). Audi currently employs around 65,000 people worldwide, including over 48,000 in Germany. Between 2012 and 2016 the brand with the four rings is planning to invest a total of €13 billion - mainly in new products and the extension of production capacities - in order to sustain the Company's technological lead embodied in its "Vorsprung durch Technik" claim. Audi is currently expanding its site in Győr (Hungary) and will start production in Foshan (China) in late 2013 and in San José Chiapa (Mexico) from 2016.

Audi has long been fulfilling its social responsibility on many levels - with the aim of making the future worth living for generations to come. The basis for Audi's lasting success is therefore formed by environmental protection, the conservation of resources, international competitiveness and a forward-looking human resources policy. One example of AUDI AG's commitment to environmental issues is the Audi Environmental Foundation. Within the context of "Vorsprung durch Technik," which extends far beyond its products, the Company is directing its activities toward a major goal - comprehensive CO₂-neutral mobility.

Corporate Communications
Julio Schuback
Spokesman for Finance and Organization
Tel: +49-841-89-38455
e-mail: [email protected]
http://www.audi-mediaservices.com/reports

SOURCE Audi AG