ZCZC
BCN-14
SWEDEN-AUTOMOBILE-EARNINGS-VOLVO
Volvo Cars defies slowing market to hit record sales
STOCKHOLM, July 19, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Volvo Cars, the Swedish luxury brand
owned by China’s Geely, defied a slowing global auto market to set a record
for sales in the first half of the year, although US trade war tariffs and
falling prices squeezed profits.
The 7.3 percent year-on-year jump to a record 340,286 cars during the
first half of the year was accompanied by a 5.9 percent rise in sales revenue
to 130 billion Swedish kronor ($13.9 billion, 12.4 billion euros)
“At a time when most markets in the world see stagnating car sales, we
have had strong growth in the first half,” chief executive Hakan Samuelsson
was quoted as saying in a statement.
But increased pricing pressure and tariffs squeezed operating profit, he
acknowledged, adding that the company had implemented cost controls that
should be felt in the second half of this year.
Reflecting these pressures, operating profit tumbled nearly 30 percent to
5.5 billion Swedish kronor.
Last year Volvo Cars, bought by Geely from Ford in 2010, set an annual
sales record of more than 600,000 vehicles although profits were already
feeling the effects of the US trade war with China and the European Union.
BSS/AFP/HR/1010