Volkswagen 2009 net income falls 80 per cent

Cars of German carmaker Volkswagen seen in a storage and loading tower in the "Autostadt" in Wolfsburg, Germany. An industry group says new car registrations in Germany were down 30 percent on the year in February but exports rose strongly. File photo

Europe’s biggest carmaker Volkswagen AG says its 2009 net income declined 80 percent to euro960 million ($1.3 billion), confirming its preliminary estimate released in February.

The Wolfsburg-based carmaker earned euro4.8 billion in net income in 2008.

Revenue in 2009 was down nearly 8 percent to euro105.2 billion from euro114 billion in 2008, VW said Thursday.

The company expects the global auto industry climate “to remain harsh” in 2010 and says sales volumes will not likely rise to pre-crisis levels until 2012.

However, the group’s revenue and operating profit for 2010 should exceed 2009 levels, while VW will focus on efficiencies.

VW says operating profit was down 70 percent in 2009 to euro1.9 billion from euro 6.3 billion in 2008.