OREANDA-NEWS. March 18, 2015. Volkswagen's finance division is targeting 2015 operating profit not below last year's record result of 1.7 billion euros (\\$1.80 billion), its Chief Executive Frank Witter said on Tuesday.

VW Financial Services handles dealer and customer financing and the German group's banking and leasing business. Its operations exclude the Scania and Porsche brands and the Porsche Holding Salzburg distributor.

"We kept growing in a profitable way thanks to close cooperation with group brands, expansion to new markets and the launch of new products in existing markets," Witter said at the division's annual press conference in Frankfurt.

The finance arm of Europe's largest automaker increased its overall portfolio of credit, leasing and insurance contracts 16 percent in 2014 to a record 12.4 million contracts, Witter said.

Operating profit was up 5.5 percent to 1.7 billion euros from 1.61 billion a year earlier while pre-tax earnings rose 2.1 percent to 1.75 billion euros, according to VW.

The division benefited strongly from its insurance and servicing operations which jumped by a fifth to 4.55 million contracts, the CEO said.

Wolfsburg-based parent VW last week reported details about individual brands' earnings after posting forecast-beating 2014 group results in February, driven by demand for upmarket Audis and Porsches.