Volvo cars boosts 2014 operating profit by 17% on record sales
By Bloomberg
Volvo Car Group, whose Chinese parent company’s listed arm issued a profit warning in December, said earnings rose 17 percent after record sales last year.
Operating profit increased to 2.25 billion kronor ($271 million) in 2014 from 1.92 billion kronor a year earlier, the Gothenburg, Sweden-based carmaker said in a statement on Thursday. Revenue gained 6.3 percent to 130 billion kronor.
“The company is in an investment phase right now,” Chief Executive Officer Hakan Samuelsson said. “The fruits of these investments will start to be felt from this year.”
Volvo, bought by billionaire Li Shufu’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. in 2010, will start deliveries of the new XC90 sport-utility vehicle during the second quarter of this year. The car replaces a version built since 2002 and is the first vehicle to be introduced after a five-year, $11 billion investment program to produce a broad range of models on a single manufacturing line.
Zhejiang Geely’s listed arm Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. said in December it expects full-year net income to fall about 50 percent because of declining sales and a slumping Russian ruble. The company’s net income was 2.66 billion yuan ($425 million) in 2013. Li said he’s revamping the Geely brand, replacing its Emgrand, Gleagle and Englon marques.
Volvo sales gained 8.9 percent last year to a record 465,866 cars. The company targets a doubling of sales to about 800,000 vehicles in the medium term