BERLIN, Oct 30 (Reuters) - German carmaker Volkswagen posted higher third-quarter operating profit as record sales at premium brands Audi and Porsche offset costs of an engineering overhaul.
Operating profit in the three months through September at Europe's largest automotive group rose to 2.78 billion euros ($3.83 billion) from 2.32 billion euros in the same period a year earlier, the Wolfsburg-based company said in a statement on Wednesday.
This was in line with the average of analysts' estimates in a Reuters poll.
VW stuck to its outlook for 2013, aiming to match last year's record operating profit of 11.5 billion euros and to push sales and deliveries to new highs.