Resultados Audi 2003

Ingolstadt, 25th February 2003

Annual Press Conference for the 2002 financial year: Audi presents record figures
for seventh year in succession

Record revenue, net profit and vehicle sales again
High profitability despite considerable burdens
Record market share for Audi in Western Europe
AUDI AG posted record figures for revenue and vehicle sales again in the 2002 financial year, making it the company’s seventh record year in succession. “Despite a very difficult economic context, Audi proved once again what potential the company has. And we will be moving up another gear,” said Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG, today at the Annual Press Conference in Ingolstadt, with reference to the past and the current financial year.The revenue generated by the Audi Group was up by 2.6 percent in 2002 to EUR 22.6 billion. Net profit was up slightly by 0.7 percent to EUR 774 million, the consolidated net profit for the year by 4.7 percent to EUR 587 million – these too are record figures. The car manufacturer’s profit before taxalmost matched the previous year’s record level, but fell slightly by around EUR 68 million to around EUR 1.25 billion. This can be attributed mainly to negative influences brought about by exchange rate changes and to higher development expenditure for new, sporty models. “Despite these burdens, Audi once again demonstrated high profitability in the past financial year,” commented Winterkorn.

As the Board Member for Finance Peter Abele stressed, the fact that Audi has produced such outstanding figures again is due among other things to its successful process and cost optimisation. Without the special burdens, Abele added, the Audi Group would have posted a record profit again in 2002. “Even if our profit before tax was down slightly this year, Audi’s long-term upward trend remains unbroken since 1995 as far as the development in earnings is concerned,” explained Abele.

Total investments in the year 2002 amounted to EUR 2.41 billion (up 12 percent). The lion’s share of investments was spent on new models. “Within the scope of our mid-term investment plans from 2002 to 2007, funds totalling EUR 11.4 billion have been earmarked within the Audi Group. This corresponds to almost seven percent of the volume of revenue within the planning period,” explained Abele.

Record vehicle sales again in 2002

Audi bettered the sales record it set in 2001 once again – by 2.2 percent to 742,128 vehicles worldwide. In Europe (excluding Germany), Audi increased its sales by 5 percent to 319,197 vehicles. Audi achieved a market share in Western Europe of 3.8 percent (2001: 3.6 percent), the highest in the company’s history.

In Germany, Audi was unable to remain totally immune to the weak car market and sold 243,650 vehicles (down 4.4 percent). Despite this, the company’s market share in Germany of 7.45 percent almost matched the previous year’s high level (7.5). Audi’s largest export markets in Europe last year were Great Britain with sales of 65,552 vehicles (up 21.1 percent), Italy with 50,107 (up 6.6), Spain with 41,052 (down 2.5) and France with 40,793 vehicles (up 0.7).

The biggest export market was the USA again with a record sales total of 85,726 cars (up 2.9 percent). 11,648 Audi models were sold in Japan (up 43.3 percent). 81,907 cars (up 8.1 percent) were delivered to customers in other markets. This figure includes 37,034 vehicles sold in China (including Hong Kong), the biggest Asian market (up 26.1 perce nt), of which 34,962 were locally built A6 models. Lamborghini sold 424 sports cars last year (up 42.8 percent). Together with the other brands of the Volkswagen Group sold in Italy through Autogerma, the Audi Group sold a total of 995,531 vehicles (up 0.4 percent).

Car production (including Lamborghini) was up by 1.2 percent in 2002 to 735,913 units, engine production increased by 4.8 percent to 1,284,488 units.

The number of employees in the Audi Group for the year 2002 rose slightly to an average total of 51,198 (an average of 51,141 for 2001). 44,260 employees (44,374) were at AUDI AG, 4,767 (4,857) at AUDI HUNGARIA MOTOR Kft., 786 (748) at COSWORTH TECHNOLOGY LIMITED, 567 (482) at the Lamborghini Group, 695 (666) at AUTOGERMA S.p.A. and 105 employees at AUDI SENNA Ltda., which was consolidated for the first time in 2002.

Winterkorn: Driving force behind Audi running at full power

“Despite the continuing decline in the economy, we are confident that we will be able to match, and probably even exceed, the previous year’s record figures again in 2003. The new Audi A3 and the A8 in particular will provide an additional boost,” explained Winterkorn. However, due to economic and political uncertainty, it is difficult to make any firm predictions.

Winterkorn: “Last year we gave the Audi brand a new and more focussed direction, changed our course in several important product-related areas and set up the Audi brand group, the sporty brand group in the Volkswagen Group which includes the brands Audi, SEAT and Lamborghini. We will appeal to our customers with a wide range of emphatically sporty and exclusive cars. Sportiness, progressive technology and emotionally charged design are the main ingredients of our success.”

Winterkorn also announced a further increase in production flexibility and a continuation of the company’s successful cost reduction management in 2003. Winterkorn: “We will continue to work towards providing our customers with an even better service. We will invest further and with undiminished intensity in developing new, attractive models. And we will continue to improve our market position compared with the competition. It is our declared goal to become the sportiest supplier in the premium segment.”

Notes to editors:

Photos of Audi production are available through obs (dpa).
Text and pictures from the press folder can be called up at http://www.audi-press.com; “Company”;
User ID (valid until 2 March) aupr0309; password JPK2003
Annual Report at http://www.audi.com/annual report