Volkswagen net profit falls 19.3% in first quarter

The net profit of Germany`s automotive manufacturer Volkswagen declined to 2.365 billion euros ($2.64 billion) in the first quarter of 2016, with a drop of 19.3% compared to the same quarter of 2015.

Volkswagen on Tuesday published its first quarter data which featured a 3.4% surge in its operating profits to 3.440 billion euros ($3.84 billion), Efe news reported.

Sales revenues between January and March 2016 dropped 3.4% to 50.964 billion euros ($56.84 billion) due to the slowdown in sales, as well as the negative repercussions of the exhaust emission tests scandal.

Volkswagen`s shares fell 2.2% to 134.85 euros ($150.40) per share on the Frankfurt stock exchange, following the beginning of trading after the announcement of the company`s data. Volkswagen CEO Matthias Muller expressed satisfaction over the 2016 first quarter in light of the many challenges faced by the company, adding that the current year still requires more effort.