Audi 2015 Annual Report Download - page 146

ECONOMIC REPORT
BUSINESS AND UNDERLYING SITUATION
146 >>
As the clear market leader, we systematically geared our activi-
ties in China towards qualitative sales management. In the
United States, we exceeded the threshold of 200,000 unit
sales for the first time in our company history and achieved
growth of 11.1 percent. We voluntarily suspended sales of
vehicles with V6 3.0 TDI technology there in November 2015
in response to the diesel issue.
In the course of the positive overall development in volume
and as a result of favorable exchange rates, the Audi Group
increased its revenue to EUR 58,420 (53,787) million. With
further increases in upfront expenditures for new models and
innovative technologies as well as for the continuing expansion
of our worldwide production network, the operating profit
of the Audi Group came to EUR 4,836 (5,150) million. Before
special items, we achieved an operating profit of EUR 5,134
(5,150) million. To build on our strong brand position, we
made preparations for and carried out the gradual market
introduction of a large number of volume models in the past
fiscal year. These make up around 40 percent of deliveries
worldwide. Further process and cost optimization measures
along the entire value chain had a positive impact on profit
performance. The operating return on sales for 2015 reached
8.3 (9.6) percent and was therefore within the strategic target
corridor of 8 to 10 percent. Revenue, operating profit and the
operating return on sales consequently met our expectations
from the start of 2015. The return on investment was also in
line with our forecast at 19.4 (23.2) percent.
Thanks to our financial strength, we were able to complete an
extensive strategic investment with the HERE transaction,
alongside our planned investment program. The cash portion
of the purchase price attributable to the Audi Group was
EUR 668 million. As forecast in the Third Quarter Report 2015,
this transaction has a corresponding impact on the net cash
flow of the Audi Group, which amounted to EUR 1,627 (2,970)
million in the past fiscal year. In the 2014 Annual Report, we
had anticipated a net cash flow in excess of EUR 2 billion,
which is also below the previous year’s level. Adjusted for
the HERE transaction, we achieved a net cash flow of
EUR 2,295 million, in line with our plans.
The past fiscal year saw the Audi Group again invest substantial
amounts in the customer-oriented enlargement and updating
of its product portfolio, in the expansion of the worldwide
production capacities necessary for this and in pioneering
technologies. The ratio of capex (investments in property,
plant and equipment, investment property and other intangi-
ble assets, without capitalized development costs) of 6.0 (5.5)
percent in the 2015 fiscal year was therefore slightly above
our strategic target corridor of 5.0 to 5.5 percent. In the 2014
Annual Report we had anticipated a ratio of capex that was
moderately higher than the target corridor, but had adjusted
the forecast in the Interim Financial Report to a slight increase
in light of the shift in exchange rates.
Further information on the development of the key
p
erformance indicators of the Audi Group can be
found under “Deliveries and distribution” on pages
160 ff. and “Financial performance indicators” on
p
ages 165 ff.
Forecast/actual comparison Audi Group
Actual 2014 Forecast for 2015 Actual 2015
Deliveries of cars of the Audi brand to customers 1,741,129 significant increase 1) 1,803,246
Revenue in EUR million 53,787 moderate increase 58,420
Operating profit in EUR million 5,150 within the strategic target corridor of 8 to 10 percent 4,836
Operating return on sales in percent 9.6 8.3
Return on investment (ROI) in percent
23.2
with more than 18 percent significantly above the
minimum rate of return of 9 percent 19.4
Net cash flow in EUR million 2,970 more than EUR 2 billion and below previous year’s level 2) 1,627
Ratio of capex in percent
5.5
moderately above the strategic target corridor of 5.0 to
5.5 percent 3) 6.0
1) Updated in the 2015 Interim Financial Report to a moderate rise
2) We indicated potential effects on the net cash flow from the completion of the HERE transaction in the Third Quarter Report 2015
3) Updated in the 2015 Interim Financial Report to slightly above the target corridor of 5.0 to 5.5 percent