Emission scandal forces VW to postpone 2015 results, AGM
05 Feb 2016
German carmaker Volkswagen AG (VW), struggling to overcome the effects of an emission test rigging scandal, has postponed the release of its financial results for 2015 and said it will set a new date for the publication of the annual accounts for fiscal year 2015.
At a shareholders' meeting on Friday, Volkswagen said it would push back publication of 2015 results due to remaining open questions and the resulting valuation calculations relating to the diesel emissions issue and delay its annual general meeting.
Volkswagen said the new dates for the annual press conference (previously planned for 10 March 2016) as well as the annual general meeting of shareholders, (previously planned for 21 April 2016) will be announced as soon as possible.
More than four months after the scandal broke, Volkswagen continues to grapple with a possible solution for the emission issue and is still in the dark about how to make provision for it in the annual accounts, but said it will achieve the best possible transparent and reliable outcome for its shareholders and stakeholders.
Before special items Volkswagen anticipates the operating result for the group at the level of the prior year within the expected range for fiscal year 2015.
''The timing of the report clarifying the background and responsibilities connected to the diesel emission issue is not affected by this decision. Volkswagen is sticking to the timing and plans to publish the findings in the second half of April,'' the company said in a release.
More than four months after the scandal broke in the United States, Volkswagen (VW) still lacks a technical solution for almost 600,000 diesel cars and is facing a growing number of legal allegations.
Top players on VW's supervisory board have been meeting more frequently lately to discuss the crisis, including how to account for the scandal in the carmaker's annual results, which originally were due to be released in full on 10 March 2016.
Europe's largest automaker said it expects an operating group result before special items that is "at the level of the prior year within the expected range for fiscal 2015".
VW said it still aimed to provide a report to clarify "the background and responsibilities" related to the emissions scandal in the second half of April.