Audi Profits Fall On Emissions Scandal, Takata Recalls, Volkswagen Shares Slide

Audi AG , the high-end car maker owned by Volkswagen AG, said Thursday operating profit fell 6 percent in 2015, as costs related to the emissions scandal and provisions for recalls of cars fitted with airbags from Takata Corp. eroded its earnings.

Operating profit for 2015 fell to 4.84 billion euros ($5.28 billion) from 5.15 billion euros ($5.62 billion) a year earlier at the maker of premium sedans, Lamborghini sports cars and Ducati motorcycles due to emissions scandal-related costs of 228 million euros ($248.68 million) during the year. The company said future effects of the scandal on Audi’s balance sheet would not be significant as Volkswagen was expected to bear the majority of costs related to the recalls and fines.

The company also forecast a “moderate” increase in deliveries and revenue for 2016. The company, however, warned that expenditures on new factories in Brazil and Mexico, and a ramp-up in costs of new models would affect profits “negatively” in 2016.

"Conditions were demanding, perhaps more demanding than we originally expected," Audi CFO Axel Strotbek said Thursday. However, Strotbek reaffirmed Audi’s outlook of achieving a pretax profit margin in the range of 8 percent to 10 percent in 2016.

Last month, Volkswagen postponed the release of its results to late April and the financial fallout of the "Dieselgate" scandal remains unclear. The German carmaker had admitted to installing software on up to 11 million vehicles worldwide to manipulate emissions tests.