Porsche celebrates huge increases in first six months

Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG can look back on a very successful first half of the ongoing 2013 fiscal year. Sales of the sports car manufacturer rose by 4 percent to 7.03 billion euro from January to the end of June. With 1.29 billion euro, the operating result stood at 3 percent above the value of the previous year. Deliveries increased by 18 percent to 81,565 vehicles.

Given the clouded economic environment in Europe, Lutz Meschke, Chief Financial Officer of Porsche AG, was very satisfied with the mid-year result. Mr. Meschke underscored the earning power of the company reflected in the high return on sales of 18 percent. “Through growth and cost discipline, we compensate our substantial expenditures for the development of new models such as the super sports car 918 Spyder and the sports SUV Macan,” Meschke explained. For both the Macan and the 918 Spyder, production will start still this year. The high expenditures, though, have not yet been offset by corresponding vehicle sales in the ongoing fiscal year. These sales will only be realized as of 2014 when our new models are sold.” Nonetheless, according to Meschke, Porsche AG aims for a result in the 2013 fiscal year that matches the very high level of the prior year.

Matthias Müller, President and CEO of Porsche AG, attributes the growth primarily to the attractive model range: “Our new vehicles are highly praised by customers, the trade press as well as the renowned American market research institute J.D. Power.” Thus Porsche placed first in two recent surveys conducted by J.D. Power: one on the quality (“Initial Quality Study”) and one on the attractiveness (“Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout Study”) of new vehicles.

The Porsche President and CEO remains optimistic for the course of the second half of 2013. “With the new 911 GT3, the new 911 Turbo and Turbo S as well as the '50 Years 911' exclusive special model, we have more exciting vehicles hitting the road.” Moreover, Porsche is currently launching the new generation of the Panamera, which now includes the Panamera S E-Hybrid. “With this first plug-in hybrid vehicle in the premium segment, we are able to prove our innovative power and the top position the Porsche brand holds in terms of technology,” Matthias Müller emphasized. Looking at the individual markets, the Porsche President and CEO is convinced that the sports car manufacturer will continue to grow on its most important sales markets in the United States and China.

Deliveries in China rose by 20 percent to 18,323 vehicles in the first half of 2013; in the United States, by 30 percent to 21,309 units. Deliveries to customers in Europe rose only slightly by 2 percent to 26,199 vehicles in this difficult economic environment.

With regard to the model range, the new Boxster series, which includes the new Cayman, showed the highest growth with a jump of 186 percent to 12,886 vehicles in the period from January to June 2013. The model series most in demand was again the Cayenne with 42,354 deliveries (plus 22 percent), followed by the 911 range, of which 15,834 vehicles were delivered (plus 10 percent). Due to the new model generation, the Panamera recorded a fall in deliveries by 33 percent to 10,491 vehicles in the first half of 2013. Sales of the new Panamera models began in July.

The growth strategy of Porsche is also reflected in the continually growing number of employees. It exceeded the threshold of 18,000 employees for the first time in June 2013. Exactly 18,148 persons were on board at Porsche as at the end of June 2013. This is equivalent to a growth of 4 percent in comparison to the end of the year in 2012. Of the over 18,000 employees, around 5,000 have been added in the last 3 years.