Braunschweig, 7 August 2018. Volkswagen Financial Services have achieved their best-ever half-year operating result of EUR 1.231 billion as at 30 June 2018 (previous year: EUR 1.165 billion). The basis for this result lies in a 7.4 percent increase in the number of current contracts to 20.2 million units (previous year: 18.8 million units) and a growth of 8.7 percent in new contract acquisitions to just under 4.2 million units (previous year: 3.8 million). "Following our record performance in the financial year 2017, the earnings improvement during the first half of this year is especially satisfying. We are therefore confirming our earnings forecast for 2018 and expect our operating profit to be at the level of the previous year," says Frank Fiedler, CFO of Volkswagen Financial Services AG. He adds: "This is, however, not something that can be taken for granted, because in order to achieve this level again, we must continue to focus on our targets during the second half of the year." The increase in the half-year operating result is mainly attributable to the growth in business volume and improved margins.
For the first time, Volkswagen Financial Services have also reached a figure of more than 20 million units for their portfolio of current contracts. Growth can be observed throughout the world, whereby in Europe the fleet business is progressing particularly successfully. "We are growing internationally on a broad basis with all our products. The good collaboration with the brands of the Volkswagen Group and the strong markets in Europe and North America are a significant support," says Dr. Christian Dahlheim, Chief Sales Officer of Volkswagen Financial Services AG.
Contract portfolio
The contract portfolio of Volkswagen Financial Services amounted to 20.21 million units (+7.4 percent) at the end of the first half-year. This figure comprised 6.22 million current contracts for vehicle financing (+4.7 percent), 4.22 million leasing contracts (+14.5 percent), 4.27 million service contracts (+13.0 percent) and 5.49 million insurance contracts (+1.5 percent). In Germany, the highest-volume market of Volkswagen Financial Services, the total number of current contracts increased from 6.2 million to 6.39 million contracts, a growth of 3.1 percent.
New contracts
The new contract acquisitions in the vehicle financing segment amounted to almost 1.26 million units during the first half-year (+10.9 percent). In addition, 973,000 new leasing contracts (+10.4 percent), 837,000 new service contracts (+2.6 percent) and more than 1.15 million new insurance contracts (9.8 percent) were also concluded.
