Audi says 3Q operating profit rose almost 14 pct

FRANKFURT — Audi AG, the luxury arm of automaker Volkswagen AG, said Wednesday third-quarter operating profit rose nearly 14 percent as a gain in sales in Germany offset falls elsewhere.

The company, whose products include the A3, A6 and sporty TT, earned 2.05 billion euros ($2.6 billion) in operating profit, up from 1.8 billion euros a year earlier.

Audi did not release any net profit figures.

Sales rose to 25.8 billion euros ($32.2 billion) from 25.3 billion euros last year, a gain of 2.1 percent, with slight improvement in its home market of Germany, but drops in the U.S., Spain and Italy.

"Worldwide demand for cars slipped considerably in the third quarter of 2008, on the back of slower growth in the first half of the year," the car maker said in a statement.

Audi, like its peers, said it expected global auto markets to decline through the end of the year as the economic crisis scares buyers from big-ticket items.

"The markets of Asia and central and eastern Europe will continue to grow, but at a slower rate than previously," it said in a statement. "However, the rising sales volume in emerging markets will not suffice to compensate for the anticipated downturn in sales in the U.S. and Western Europe."

Audi shares were down 0.28 percent to 445 euros ($555.83) in Frankfurt trading.

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