Volkswagen reports preliminary FY adjusted operating profit EUR 22.5B

"Based on preliminary figures, Volkswagen AG generated net cash flow of around EUR5 billion in fiscal 2022, falling short of its self-imposed target of achieving net cash flow at the level of the previous year (2021: EUR8.6 billion). The deviation is mainly due to the unstable supply situation throughout 2022 and disruptions in the logistics chains, particularly at the end of the year. As a result, working capital and in particular inventories of finished goods, raw materials and supplies at the end of the year were significantly higher than expected. Current planning for 2023 suggests that this year-end 2022 increase in working capital will largely reverse during the year. Based on preliminary figures, Group sales (outlook for 2022: 8-13% above prior-year figure of 250.2 billion euros) and Group operating profit before special items (outlook for return on sales in 2022: 7.0%-8.5% of Group sales) are 279 billion euros and around 22.5 billion euros respectively, and thus within the expected ranges of the outlook confirmed at the time of the 9M reporting on Oct 26, 2022. The expected return on sales is therefore at around 8.1%. The net liquidity of the Automotive Division at December 31, 2022 was around 43 billion euros. This includes around 16 billion cash inflows from the IPO of Porsche AG conducted in September 2022. The company plans to publish its annual report on March 14," Volkswagen announced.