Europe's largest car maker Volkswagen said on Wednesday its pre-tax profit slipped 9.6 per cent in 2002 to €3.986 billion, meeting the company's target.
VW posted group revenues of €86.948 billion, compared with €88.540 billion the previous year. It said it would propose an ordinary unchanged dividend of €1.3 per share.
The group, which is suffering from an ageing product range as it battles weak demand and unfavourable exchange rates, had been expected to post a pre-tax figure of €3 billion, according to the average estimate in a Reuters poll.
Volkswagen said in October it still aimed to post pre-tax earnings of around €4 billion for 2002, although it cautioned that a further deterioration in stock markets could have an effect on its financial result.