Volkswagen logs Q3 operating loss of €5.86 billion on Porsche writedown

The Volkswagen Group on Thursday posted its worst quarterly numbers in more than a decade.

The company reported an operating loss of €5.86 billion (roughly $6.53 billion) during July, August and September. One-off costs, not least a massive writedown in its stake in struggling sister company Porsche, explained the vast bulk of the losses.

The world's second-largest carmaker is battling mounting competition from and falling demand in the core Chinese market.

It is pursuing a major restructuring and downsizing program, trying to bolster falling profit margins, and executives said the difficulties highlighted the urgency of this process.

"The nine-month results make one thing clear: We cannot afford to lose any time. We must act quickly and decisively," chief financial officer Arno Antlitz said in a video statement.

The results were the latest reminder of the pressure on VW — and the wider German and Western automotive industry — to react to increasing competition in China, high costs and practical difficulties moving towards electric car production, and unpredictable and rising tariff burdens, thanks in no small part to US President Donald Trump.

And here are some of the key year-to-date 9-month figures:

VW shares were already at their lowest levels in well over 10 years prior to Thursday's announcements, after months of difficult headlines and the ongoing plans to shed tens of thousands of jobs and reduce production capacities.

Perhaps as a result of this, the stock dipped briefly as markets opened and the news was published, but then started to rally as the day progressed.

By midday in Frankfurt, VW shares had climbed by 2% compared to their prices at the start of trading on the DAX.

CEO Oliver Blume plans to shed around 100,000 jobs across the group, which includes the Audi and Porsche brands, in the coming years though a combination of layoffs and not replacing departing or retiring personnel.

Multiple factors are contributing to this. They include increased competition from Chinese manufacturers, falling revenues in China, changeable US auto tariffs under President Donald Trump, different staffing requirements when manufacturing electric cars and difficulties moving towards making and selling more electric cars at the pace once designated by political leaders.

Up to four plants in Germany could face closure as part of the plan, which has met with considerable union resistance and could lead to strikes starting next year.

CFO Antlitz said the figures showed the urgency underlying these plans, saying the company needed to increase its profit margins by 2030 to solidify its finances.

Antlitz said the operating return on sales was only 3.8% in the first nine months of the year, even before the one-off writedowns hitting the bottom line.

"That is not enough in the long term," he said.

As part of its restructuring program, the VW Group aims to restore an operating profit margin of between 8-10% by 2030.

This year, amid one-off costs now totaling in the region of €10 billion, it expects a profit margin of no more than 1%, compared to prior forecasts in the region of 5%.