Quarterly Net Profit Falls at Volkswagen

Volkswagen said its net profit fell 24% in the first quarter compared with a year ago, amid falling sales.

Europe’s largest auto maker earned $564 million in net profit, down from $699 million the year before. That roughly matched analyst estimates.

Sales fell 5% to $19.2 billion. The company, which warned in March that profit would fall this quarter, said an economic recovery in Western Europe and the United States in the second half of the year would enable it to fulfill its forecast that pretax earnings this year would roughly equal last year’s figure.