Volvo Cars drives to strong net last year
Print Edition
VOLVO Cars, the Swedish subsidiary of Chinese automaker Geely, yesterday posted strong profit in 2013 after a loss in the year’s first half, thanks to soaring China sales and cost cutting.
The company reported a net profit of 960 million kronor (US$149.7 million) last year, compared with a loss of 542 million kronor the year before.
The full-year result implied a startling turnaround in the second half of 2013, following a loss of 778 million kronor in the first half, and three consecutive six-month periods in the red before that.
“Apart from a good sales performance in the second half of the year, our focus on cost has been an essential factor in returning to profitability,” Volvo Cars Chief Executive Haakan Samuelsson said in a statement.
Samuelsson, who already said in January that the company had returned to profit, said he expected continued growth in 2014.
“First and foremost, we will stay profitable in 2014,” he said.
“The coming year will also be a year of growth, with a good 5 percent increase in sales, characterized by a continued strong performance in China.”
Sales in China, which seems to be on the brink of becoming Volvo Cars’ most important market, grew by 45.6 percent in 2013 compared with a year earlier to 61,146 cars.
In the United States, so far Volvo Cars’ strongest market, sales fell 10.1 percent to 61,233.
In January, the company hinted at the need to broaden the product range in the US market to boost sales.
Although global sales for the year rose 1.4 percent to 427,840 cars, revenue in 2013 dropped to 122.3 billion kronor from 124.5 billion kronor in 2012.
Operating profit increased to 1.92 billion kronor from 66 million kronor a year earlier.
The company’s market share in Europe grew slightly from 1.87 percent in 2012 to 1.9 percent in 2013, and the group expects to keep it this year.
“Market circumstances in Europe are expected to remain challenging, but Volvo Cars aims to retain its market share in the region,” the company said.
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