Volkswagen Net Profit Down 31%... "More Sausages Sold Than Cars"

German automobile company Volkswagen Group announced on the 11th (local time) that its net profit after tax decreased by 30.6% compared to 2023.

According to Volkswagen, last year's revenue was 324.6 billion euros (approximately 514 trillion won), an increase of 0.7% compared to the previous year, but net profit decreased from 17.9 billion euros (approximately 28 trillion won) to 12.4 billion euros (approximately 20 trillion won) during the same period.

Operating profit fell by 15.4% from 22.5 billion euros (approximately 40 trillion won) to 19.1 billion euros (30 trillion won), and the operating profit margin decreased from 7.0% to 5.9%.

Volkswagen explained that one-time costs occurred due to the closure of the Audi plant in Brussels, Belgium. Last year's operating profit margin was higher than the company's downward revised forecast of 5.6% made in September last year.

Oliver Blume, CEO, forecasted that this year's revenue will increase by up to 5% compared to last year, and the operating profit margin will be between 5.5% and 6.5%.

When the operating profit margin dropped to 2% from January to September last year, Volkswagen agreed with the union to cut 35,000 of the 120,000 jobs in Germany and to halt car production at 2 of the 10 factories in Germany.

Last year, the group's total sales volume was 9.037 million units, a 3.5% decrease compared to 2023. The company stated that sales in North America and Europe were maintained and grew in South America, but the decrease in sales in China was not fully offset.

The Volkswagen brand sausages broke the record for the highest sales ever.

Volkswagen sold 8.552 million sausages last year, about 200,000 more than in 2023. ARD broadcast reported that more sausages were sold than cars bearing the Volkswagen logo (5.2 million units).

Volkswagen explained that this was the result of increased sales of new products such as hot dog sausages launched in 2021.

Gunnar Kilian, Volkswagen's HR director, wrote on social media, "We set a new record, but we do not stop. We are preparing for the next big hit with Currywurst (a type of German sausage dish)."

Volkswagen has been making sausages in its own factory since 1973 and sells them in the company cafeteria and supermarkets in Lower Saxony, where the group headquarters is located. The sausages even have their own part numbers.