Volkswagen Slovakia (VW SK) recorded a turnover of €5.19 billion last year, up 28.5 percent year-on-year. Representatives of the company also told a news conference on Tuesday, March 13, that the carmaker's net profit surged 80 percent to €135 million, the SITA newswire reported.
Some 210,000 cars rolled off the production lines at VW SK's Bratislava plant, representing a year-on-year increase of 45.6 percent. SUVs made up 93 percent of the overall output. Production of gearboxes in Bratislava was at its highest level since production began there in 1994: 401,00 units were manufactured, a rise of 5.8 percent year-on-year. In addition, the company produced 34 million components at its Martin plant in 2011, up 7.9 percent from 2010. The company spent €4.4 billion on production of vehicles, gearboxes and components last year, the SITA newswire reported, citing company figures. Components and material supplied by firms in Slovakia increased to a record share of 41 percent last year, representing €1.8 billion of VW SK's spending.
The company's exports were €5.16 billion last year, with 99.8 percent of production being shipped abroad. The biggest export markets were Germany, with a 41.9-percent share, China with 21.1 percent, the United States with 8.7 percent and Russia with a 5.3-percent share of overall vehicle exports. VW SK invested €225.5 million in Slovakia last year, the biggest portion of which went towards preparations to produce VW's New Small Family cars. Last year, the company also started building a new pressing plant. The company plans to invest approximately €90 million in this, and create 100 ongoing jobs.
Company representatives unveiled an investment plan according to which the carmaker plans to invest some €1.5 billion in Slovakia over the next five years in production of both vehicles and components.
Source: SITA
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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