Porsche on course to another record yearVehicle sales up again – increased revenue and results
Stuttgart. Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany, remains on course for growth. Despite the rather unsatisfactory economic environment, the manufacturer of sports cars and sport utility vehicles has been able to increase production, sales, revenue and earnings. In the first ten months of the 2003/04 fiscal year (which ends on 31 July) Porsche revenue increased by 14.0 percent to 5.06 billion Euros compared with the same period of the previous year. From 1 August 2003 to 31 May 2004 results have improved again as well, despite development and launch costs for the new-generation Porsche 911, deliveries will be phased into the world markets from 17 July 2004 on. On-sale date for North America is 28 August 2004.
Cayenne boosts overall sales
In the first ten months of the current fiscal year, Group sales rose by 18.2 percent to a total of 61,496 vehicles (previous year: 52,012 units). This growth was achieved by the Cayenne. By the end of May, 31,896 units of this sport utility vehicle had been sold compared with 12,343 units in the same period of the previous year, although the launch did not begin until December 2002. The 911 model line, on the other hand, fell back in the first ten months of the current year, with sales down by 19.9 percent to 18,986 vehicles; Boxster sales decreased by 34.3 percent to 10,490 units. 124 units of the high-performance sports Carrera GT car had been sold by the end of May.
Production and workforce increase
Porsche has again increased its production volume. In the first ten months of the 2003/04 fiscal year a total of 66,454 vehicles left the production line (plus 14.9 percent). Cayenne accounted for 34,612 units, compared with 16,600 units in the previous year. Porsche produced 20,457 units of the 911 (minus 17.9 percent), 11,121 Boxster cars (minus 31.5 percent) and 174 Carrera GTs. In the review period, Porsche continued to buck the general trend by creating more jobs. The Porsche Group's workforce grew by 10.6 percent to 11,533 employees, though the bulk of this increase (888 employees) is due to the acquisition of CTS Car Top Systems GmbH, which was fully consolidated in this fiscal year. Investments continued at a high level and totaled approximately 941.7 million Euros (plus 0.7 percent). Of this figure, 509.0 million Euros were devoted to the financial services companies (minus 1.0 percent) and 432.7 million Euros (plus 2.8 percent) to investments in tangible assets.
Outlook
Porsche is well on the road to achieving record figures for the whole 2003/04 fiscal year as well. The company anticipates total sales of approximately 75,000 vehicles (previous year: 66,803 vehicles); and both revenue and year-end results should also improve. The Cayenne model line is the driving force behind this growth, which more than makes up for shortfalls in sports-car sales. The present 911 generation, now in the seventh year of its life cycle, will not achieve the same sales figures as in the previous year. It is none the less worth noting that deliveries to customers and orders from the German market have increased strongly in recent months. In addition to this, the higher-value variants of the current 911 model line were in strong demand on the world market. In mid-july 2004 the new 911 reaches the market. This will add further impetus to Porsche's core business and will result in a even better model mix.
GO 2004-06-30
No. 96/04
01.07.2004