The company made 2.20 billion euros in the same period a year ago.
Sales revenue rose 25.3 percent to 38.512 billion euros, and operating earnings, which exclude the option issue, jumped by 45 percent to 2.9 billion euros from the year-ago quarter, ahead of analyst estimates of 2.5 billion euros.
With operating earnings of 9 billion euros in the first nine months, the company said it had already exceeded 2010 full-year earnings with three months still to go in the year.
“Our strong business performance shows the strength and stability of our strategy,” said CEO Martin Winterkorn. The company reaffirmed its earnings prediction for significantly higher sales and operating profit this year, and the company’s shares rose 5.9 percent in morning trading to 112.05 euros on a rising German stock market boosted by news of a deal to give financially troubled Greece more debt relief.
Volkswagen showed unit sales growth in Western Europe of 8 percent despite uncertainty from the ongoing government debt crisis, 29.7 percent growth in Central and Eastern Europe, and 14.6 percent in the Asia Pacific region including China.
Volkswagen’s takeover of Porsche has been stalled by legal issues, although the companies already cooperate extensively. The company said it was revaluing put and call options related to the deal, which added 6.8 billion euros to its results.
Potential liability from legal proceedings over alleged share manipulation by Porsche make it difficult to quantify the risk Volkswagen would be taking in a share exchange. The companies say they are committed to going through with the combination and are looking at other ways to accomplish that.
