Volvo Cars up 9% after reporting record operating profit

Volvo Cars shares rose sharply on Thursday after the corporate reported a jump in second-quarter operating profit.

As of three:03 p.m. London time, shares were up 9.01 percent. Core operating profit for the quarter was 8.2 billion Swedish kronor ($776 million), up 28 percent from the identical quarter last yr, the corporate said in a press release.

This is the very best value ever recorded for a single quarter, the carmaker announced. Joint ventures and associated corporations will not be included within the core figure.

Global retail sales rose 15% to 205,400 cars within the quarter in comparison with the identical period last yr, the automaker said, adding that the rise was as a consequence of a rise in sales of each hybrid and fully electric cars.

Overall, electric vehicles and hybrid models accounted for 48% of the corporate’s global sales within the quarter, the corporate said.

Volvo has doubled down on its commitment to the electrical vehicle market, amid growing competition as quite a lot of Chinese automakers push hard into the sector. Tensions over higher tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China have reached a fever pitch in recent months, with the US increasing tariffs on the cars, while European countries appear divided on the right way to tackle the difficulty.

Volvo Cars’ sales decreased barely within the second quarter, amounting to SEK 101.5 billion in comparison with SEK 102.2 billion in the identical period last yr.

“We delivered a strong performance in the second quarter of 2024 with record underlying profitability, demonstrating our ability to create value despite a complex geopolitical and economic environment,” said Jim Rowan, CEO of Volvo Cars, in a press release.

In the primary quarter of 2024, Volvo Cars reported a 2% year-on-year decline in sales. Operating profit in the primary quarter was 6.8 billion Swedish kronor, while retail automotive sales were 182,687.