Porsche AG continued its growth course in the first three months of the short fiscal year 2010 (August 1 to December 31). At 21,218 vehicles, unit sales were up 86.4 percent albeit compared to what was a relatively weak prior-year quarter. Revenue amounted to 2.06 billion euro, up 80.3 percent on the comparative period of the past fiscal year. The operating result reached 395 million euro in the first three months, after 52 million euro in the prior-year quarter. Accordingly, the group reports a good double-digit return on sales.
Pleased with the company’s development, Matthias Müller, chairman of the executive board of Porsche AG, said: “We can be satisfied with the key indicators of the first three months. Porsche AG is continuing on a profitable growth course.” Also regarding the fiscal year Porsche AG remains optimistic as a whole: “Due to the order intake worldwide in the past few months, we expect a good double-digit return on sales in the short fiscal year from August to December 2010”, says Lutz Meschke, member of Porsche AG’s executive board in charge of finance and procurement. “With this current order situation, we also anticipate a good start to the new fiscal year 2011.”
Unit sales figures for the individual model series are proof of the successful market launch and continuing high demand for the new Cayenne: 10,292 vehicles were sold, this is a growth rate of 151 percent. The new generation of the sporty off-roader has been sold on the markets since May 2010. With 5,778 vehicles sold and a growth rate of 94 percent, the new Panamera is playing a significant role in Porsche’s course for success. The main reason for this high growth rate is the fact that the Panamera was not available on all markets worldwide in the prior-year quarter and that the six-cylinder model was not delivered to the dealers until May 2010. Regarding the sports cars, the 911 achieved growth of 20.4 percent, at unit sales of 3,130 vehicles. The Boxster model series reached 2,018 vehicles (up 17.5 percent). Of these, 1,089 vehicles were Boxster vehicles and 929 Cayman vehicles.
In Europe, unit sales in the first three months of the short fiscal year rose by 63 percent to 7,082 vehicles; 2,318 vehicles thereof (up 50.1 percent) were attributable to the German market. Porsche experienced even stronger growth in the Americas, where unit sales rose by 82 percent to 7,268 vehicles; 6,632 vehicles thereof were sold in North America. In Asia and the rest of the world, unit sales grew by 126 percent to 6,868 vehicles. This development is driven by strong growth in China.
Porsche manufactured 24,020 vehicles between August and October, 20 percent more than in the comparative prior-year period. In Leipzig, 12,699 units of the Cayenne series were built, 55.6 percent more vehicles than in the prior-year quarter. A total of 4,870 vehicles were produced for the fourth model series, the Panamera (down 6.4 percent). There was a decline in production of the 911 model series at the Zuffenhausen plant amounting to 7 percent. The number of 911 vehicles manufactured came to 3,902. Production figures for the Boxster model series increased by a total of 4.2 percent to 2,549 vehicles, including 1,364 Boxster and 1,185 Cayman models.
Backed by this sales growth, Porsche has created new jobs. As of 31 October 2010, the headcount at the group of 13,043 employees was up 2.5 percent on the figure seen as of 31 July 2010 (12,722 employees). In addition, at the end of October 2010 every employee who had joined Porsche AG before August 1, 2009 was paid a voluntary special payment of 2,100 euro for the past fiscal year 2009/2010.
