FRANKFURT -- Volkswagen Group said it expected to be profitable on a full-year basis even as the coronavirus pandemic caused first-quarter earnings to plunge.
Operating profit before special items in the quarter fell 81 percent to 900 million euros ($977 million) from 4.8 billion in the same period last year, VW said in a statement on Wednesday. The drop was in line with preliminary numbers published on April 16.
Earnings before tax fell to 700 million euros, compared with 4.1 billion in the same quarter last year. Operating return on sales was 1.6 percent.
Net liquidity was 17.8 billion euros after the first three months.
Overall, the group expects operating profit for 2020 to be severely below last year, but still to remain positive, VW said.
Earlier this month, the automaker withdrew its outlook for 2020 after its global vehicle sales dropped 23 percent to 2 million units in the quarter.
In February, VW had said it aimed to achieve customer deliveries in line with the previous year, revenue growth of 4 percent in 2020 and slightly higher passenger car deliveries.
- Click here to download VW Group's Q1 2020 report
