Porsche presents annual figures
The sports car manufacturer from Zuffenhausen has been extremely profitable for years.
(Photo: dpa)
The sports car and SUV manufacturer Porsche has jumped in profits thanks to higher prices in 2022. With sales increasing by 13.6 percent to 37.6 billion euros, the operating result soared by 27.4 percent to 6.8 billion euros last year. The return climbed to 18 percent from 16 percent in the previous year, as the VW subsidiary, which has been listed since September, announced on Monday.
Porsche achieved this record result even though deliveries increased only slightly by almost 2.6 percent to 310,000 vehicles. Because the brand was able to push through significantly higher prices.
“Under difficult conditions, we achieved by far the best result in the history of Porsche,” said Porsche boss Oliver Blume, who is also the boss of Volkswagen.
For 2023, Porsche is aiming for group sales of between around 40 and 42 billion euros. The Group’s operating return on sales is expected to be between 17 and 19 percent, confirming its goals from the IPO last autumn despite economically and geopolitically uncertain times.
“Our success factors are the improved price positioning, the strong product mix, the increased group sales, exchange rate effects and our high cost discipline,” explained CFO Lutz Meschke. The IPO could release Porsche forces. “We can focus even more and pick up even more speed,” explained Meschke, who is also Deputy CEO. He announced that Porsche will strengthen itself in the key areas of software and battery technology.
The Management Board launched a “Road to 20” program to increase returns to more than 20 percent in the long term. Meschke announces that the brand will be stronger than ever. For this, everything will be put to the test again. Starting with the product range, through pricing, to the cost structure.
911 million euros are to be paid out as a dividend
In 2024, after problems with software development, the all-electric, smaller Macan off-road vehicle is to be delivered to customers. Porsche wants to expand the model range with another SUV above the Cayenne. “We are observing rapidly growing profit pools in this segment, especially in China and the USA,” says Blume.
After the problems in software development in the Volkswagen Group, Porsche is strengthening its IT team with its own board department, which the newly hired Sajjad Khan is to lead. “Porsche will continue to strengthen itself in key technological areas – such as software or battery development,” said CFO Lutz Meschke.
The shareholders should have a share in the good business. For 2022, the Executive Board proposes a distribution of 911 million euros. Plus a premium of five million for the preference shares, the total amounts to 916 million euros. This corresponds to a dividend of EUR 1.00 per ordinary share and EUR 1.01 per preference share.
Volkswagen took Porsche public at the end of September. Since then, the share price has risen steadily from EUR 82.50 to EUR 114. 81 days after the initial listing on September 29, the share was included in the Dax. The market capitalization is over 80 billion euros. This means that Porsche is worth more on the stock exchange than the entire Volkswagen Group.
The partial IPO and the sale of shares to the family holding company Porsche SE raised Volkswagen almost 20 billion euros, part of which the group is investing in its electric strategy. About half of the income went to the shareholders as a special dividend, including the holding company of the Porsche and Piech families, the state of Lower Saxony and the Emirate of Qatar.
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