The biggest European automaker, said on Oct. 27 that its third-quarter net profit was 2.2 billion euros (US$3.0 billion) on strong demand and strict cost controls.
Despite the gain, VW did not raise its full-year outlook however, even though the targets are considered prudent by many analysts.
"Increased demand for our group models and our disciplined cost management led to these strong results, which have strengthened our sound financial base," VW finance director Hans Dieter Poetsch said.
After reporting nine-month results on Oct. 22, VW said that third-quarter sales jumped by 18.4% to 30.7 billion euros, and operating profit climbed to 1.985 billion euros from 278 million in the third quarter of 2009.
Looking ahead, VW warned the sharp rebound would ease, saying that growth seen "in the first nine months of 2010 will not continue as strongly in the fourth quarter."
"Nevertheless, we believe that sales revenue and operating profit in the current year will continue to perform positively," Poetsch said.
VW maintained its full-year targets, rather than raising them as many analysts had expected.
VW and its nine brands that include Audi, Bentley, Seat and Skoda, still expect to surpass last year's unit sales of 6.3 million vehicles and operating profit of 1.9 billion euros. The group sold 5.4 million vehicles in the first nine months of this year, and its operating profit since January stands at 4.8 billion euros.
VW chairman Martin Winterkorn was quoted as saying that "the Volkswagen Group continues to have its sights firmly set on capturing pole position in the automotive industry." VW wants to overtake Toyota as the world's biggest automaker by 2018.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2010
