Investing.com – Volkswagen stock (DE:VOWG) traded 3.6% lower in Europe as the chip shortage severely hampered production and sales in the third quarter, prompting Europe's largest carmaker cut its delivery outlook for the year.
The group now anticipates deliveries to be in line with the previous year’s 9.30 million units. It has delivered 6.95 million vehicles in the first nine months of the financial year.
At the same time, it expects revenue to be considerably higher than the prior-year’s 222.84 billion euros (around $259 billion). Volkswagen’s revenue for the first nine months stands at 186.59 billion euro.
Third-quarter production, deliveries and sales at the German carmaker were all lower from the year-ago period, falling 35%, around 24% and 30%, respectively, on a year-on-year basis.
The volume brands were affected most in this period, recording operating losses in spite of having full order books. The China business was disproportionately affected by the semiconductor shortage, the company said, and the high level of customer demand in China could also not be met.
Revenue in the third quarter fell 4% to 56.93 billion euros and operating profit was down 12% at 2.79 billion euros.