Volkswagen profit jumps 40.9% as car sales grow

Volkswagen, Europe's biggest carmaker, said Friday that its net profit zoomed ahead by more the 40 percent last year on higher vehicle sales, but its chief executive nevertheless saw his salary cut. VW said in a statement its net profit soared by 40.9 percent to a record 21.7 billion euros ($28.6 billion) in 2012 as revenues rose by 20.9 percent to 192.7 billion euros and deliveries to customers were up 12.2 percent at 9.276 million vehicles. Underlying or operating profit rose by 2.1 percent to 11.51 billion euros. The group said it would propose an increased dividend of 3.50 euros per share for 2012 compared with 3.00 euros per share a year earlier. Looking ahead, VW said it expected to "outperform the market as a whole in a challenging environment" and deliveries to customers would increase year-on-year.  "However, we are not completely immune to the intense competition and the impact this has on business," it cautioned.