Volkswagen Ireland posts €3.4m profit

Volkswagen Group Ireland reported a pretax profit of €3.4 million last year, up from €1.34 million in 2010.

The group, which distributes and markets VW, Skoda, Seat and Audi vehicles in Ireland, recorded a turnover of €398 million in 2011, up €55 million on the previous year.

The Irish operation, ultimately a wholly owned subsidiary of VW AG in Germany, finished the year with combined new car sales across all its brands of 20,749, or 23 per cent of the new car market. Its commercial vehicles division held a dominant 24.7 per cent share of the light commercial market.

So far this year it remains the dominant player in the new car market, with its Volkswagen car brand the best-selling marque up to the end of October, slightly ahead of Toyota.

Payments to directors were €710,000 for 2011, plus €36,000 in pension contributions. Staff numbers fell during the year, with 32 employed in marketing and sales, while 78 worked in spare parts and administration. Wages for the year came to €10.3 million.

Vehicle stocks increased from €78.5 million to €103.4 million by the end of the year.

The accounts also show a provision of €8.6 million for restructuring of the group and its dealer network. The directors’ report says they believe the recession in Ireland will have a negative impact on business levels over the next two years at least.