Volkswagen shares soar after buoyant earnings update

FRANKFURT, Germany – Volkswagen shares have soared after the German car giant revealed that its first-half earnings before charges related to its diesel-emissions scandal were “significantly higher” than market expectations.

In an unexpected announcement Wednesday, Volkswagen said its operating result before special items for the first six months was 7.5 billion euros ($8.25 billion) despite the economic impact from what it terms “the Diesel issue.”

That’s up from last year’s 7 billion euros and is largely due to improvements in the performance of the Volkswagen brand in the second quarter, especially compared with the weak first three months of the year.

The first-half figure excludes 2.2 billion euros in new provisions related to legal costs in North America.

Still, investors were encouraged and Volkswagen shares in Frankfurt spiked 5.2 percent to 134 euros.