VW's Costs Keep Adding Up From Its Worst Crisis Ever
- Profit before some items rose 14% on sales, cost cuts in 2016
- Carmaker became world’s biggest last year despite scandal
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Volkswagen AG’s provisions for the diesel-cheating scandal rose to 22.6 billion euros ($23.9 billion), as the German carmaker continues to tally damages from the worst crisis in its history.
The company took a charge of 4.4 billion euros in the fourth quarter, more than double the total from the previous nine months, to reflect a settlement related to tainted larger diesel engines and a criminal plea in the U.S. As costs continued to mount, the company’s operating profit before special items rose 14 percent to 14.6 billion euros last year, and sales margin improved to 6.7 percent from 6 percent a year earlier, according to a statement on Friday.