Volkswagen earnings meet forecast, inventory weighs on net cash flow

Volkswagen earnings meet forecast, inventory weighs on net cash flow

BERLIN (Reuters) -Volkswagen reaped an 8.1% earnings margin in 2022, at the upper end of its outlook, but net cash flow was far lower than hoped as supply chain issues left the carmaker weighed down with unfinished goods and raw materials, it said on Tuesday.

Volkswagen, which is due to report full-year results on March 14, said in a preliminary announcement that sales over the year were around 279 billion euros ($298.95 billion), up from 250.2 billion in 2021, with operating profit at 22.5 billion euros.

Net liquidity in the automotive division was around 43 billion euros, including around 16 billion euros in cash inflows from the IPO of sportscar brand Porsche in September 2022.

Volkswagen had warned in October that supply chain troubles were the new norm after reporting stagnated earnings in the third quarter.

Full-year unit sales were the lowest the company had seen in over a decade, as COVID-19 lockdowns in China and the war in Ukraine upended supply chains, pushing down deliveries across the Volkswagen Group by 7% versus 2021.

($1 = 0.9334 euros)

(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, editing by Thomas Escritt)