Volkswagen's premium brand Audi said it sees operating profit in relation to revenue remaining at its current record level this year while it targets a new all-time high in sales volume.
"We want to deliver more than 1.2 million Audi cars to customers worldwide during the current year, and thus build upon the success of the record year 2010," chief executive Rupert Stadler said. "Nonetheless, we have to remain alert, since the unpredictability of the financial and raw materials markets still carry a risk."
This year Audi aims to keep an operating margin at the same record level as 2010, when profitability increased by 4 percentage points to 9.4 per cent.
The premium brand generated on balance more than €3.5 billion in fresh cash last year, lifting net liquidity by a quarter to €13.4 billion at the end of December - a contribution of more than 70 per cent to its parent's considerable war chest.
Reuters