VW sees second quarter profit halved after emissions scandal

BERLIN (AP) - Volkswagen says second-quarter profits fell by more than half compared with the same period last year, before the company was hit by the emissions cheating scandal.

The German automaker says it earned 1.2 billion euros ($1.32 billion) after tax in the April-June period, compared with 2.7 billion euros in the second quarter of 2015.

Volkswagen shares fell about 1.4 percent to 134.10 euros following the announcement Thursday.

The company, whose brands also include Audi, Skoda and Porsche, had said a day earlier that global sales were up more than 5 percent in June compared with a year earlier, though deliveries in the U.S. were down significantly.

Volkswagen disclosed last September that it had been fitting diesel vehicles with special software to trick U.S. emissions tests.