Volkswagen, Europe's biggest car maker, said Thursday that bottom-line earnings surged in the third quarter on the back of rising sales and the positive effects of a massive cost-cutting programme.

VW said in a statement that it booked net profit of 282 million euros (338 million dollars) in the period from July to September, nearly four times the 76 million euros booked a year earlier.

Operating profit rose by 49.6 percent to 586 million euros, revenues were up 12.6 percent at 23.857 billion euros and unit sales climbed by 6.1 percent to 1.305 million cars world-wide, the statement said.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2005