Volkswagen Group has reported a pre-tax loss of €1.3 billion (£1.01bn) for 2015 after making a €16.2bn (£12.7bn) provision for costs relating to the diesel emission scandal.

It is its first annual loss since 1993.

Excluding the diesel scandal provision and other ‘special items’ the group posted a €12.8bn (£10bn) operating profit.

It led the group’s chairman of the board Matthias Muller could describe its finances as in “great shape”.

“The Volkswagen Group’s operations are in great shape, as the figures before special items for the past fiscal year clearly show,” he said.

“Were it not for the sizable provisions we made for all repercussions of the emissions issue that are now quantifiable, we would be reporting on yet another successful year overall.

“The current crisis – as the figures presented today also reveal – is having a huge impact on Volkswagen’s financial position.

“Yet we have the firm intention and the means to handle the difficult situation we are in using our own resources.”

Consolidated sales revenue rose by 5.4% to €213.3bn (£166.6bn)  on the back of improvements in the mix in the automotive business and the strong performance of the financial services division, alongside “positive exchange rate effects”.

The group estimates that deliveries to customers in the 2016 financial year will be on a level with the past year due to volume growth in China.

Depending on the economic conditions – particularly in South America and Russia – and the exchange rate development and in light of the emissions issue, the board of management expects that sales revenue for the Volkswagen Group may be down by as much as 5% on the previous year. In terms of the group’s operating profit, it expects an operating return on sales of between five and six per cent.