In the third quarter, the Stuttgart-based company did more business than experts expected, even if profitability was somewhat weaker than expected. Great demand as well as the development of sales prices and the trend towards more expensive cars continued to play into the company’s hands, said CFO Lutz Meschke on Wednesday. However, the situation in the People’s Republic is likely to remain difficult in the long term. The shares of the DAX company, which is majority owned by the Volkswagen Group, which has been badly hit in recent months, stood still around midday.
Porsche shares were volatile on Wednesday. At times they are trading 1.08 percent lower at 85.96 euros via XETRA. The shares had recently lost significantly: at their high in May, the shares were still trading at 120.45 euros. During the partial IPO in September 2022, the shares were sold to investors at an issue price of 82.50 euros. Volkswagen preferred shares temporarily lost around 0.47 percent to 101.30 euros. Porsche is the Wolfsburg-based company’s pearl of return.
Porsche’s sales climbed 12.6 percent year-on-year to 30.1 billion euros in the first nine months. Analysts had expected a less strong increase. The Stuttgart-based company’s operating result increased by nine percent to 5.50 billion euros. The corresponding margin was 18.3 percent of sales – experts had calculated a little more here. Earnings after taxes rose from 3.70 to 3.94 billion euros.
Meschke spoke of a strong result given extensive investments in the brand and technology. “We are benefiting from continued high demand and positive product mix and price effects,” said the manager. The company confirmed its annual forecast, “although the macroeconomic situation remains challenging,” as the company said. From a geopolitical perspective, the situation is likely to remain difficult in the coming year, and the Chinese economy is also expected to remain relatively weak.
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As already known, Porsche delivered almost 243,000 cars to customers between January and September, almost ten percent more than a year earlier. Things went well for the flagship model 911. For the Taycan electric sports car, Porsche turned the loss from the first six months into a plus since the beginning of the year in the third quarter. However, in the important market of China, sales fell by twelve percent due to the difficult economic situation. Porsche sells a quarter of its cars in the People’s Republic.
The company wants to address the challenges, among other things, with the efficiency program it has launched, which is intended to increase the operating return on sales to more than 20 percent in the long term. This also takes into account, among other things, the cost increases caused by high inflation. New cars should further improve the sales price development for the car manufacturer, as Meschke explained.
Several new models are expected to go to customers next year, including the new fully electric version of the Macan compact SUV. The car is considered a possible best seller for Porsche in the electric sector. Problems at the VW (Volkswagen (VW) vz) software subsidiary Cariad had painfully delayed the start, so Porsche and VW CEO Oliver Blume reorganized the software development for the car. In 2024, Porsche is planning world premieres in four model series.
JPMorgan leaves Porsche AG at ‘Overweight’ – target of 140 euros
The US bank JPMorgan has left Porsche AG at “Overweight” with a price target of 140 euros after quarterly figures. The sports car manufacturer performed well overall and should further increase margins in the final quarter thanks to the new Cayenne, wrote analyst Jose Asumendi in an initial reaction on Wednesday.
FRANKFURT/STUTTGART (Dow Jones/dpa-AFX)
Image source: Porsche, Dr. Ing. hc F. Porsche AG