Porsche enjoys further GrowthSignificant Expansion of Core Business – Dividend payment up by 80 per cent
Stuttgart. Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, continued its process of ongoing growth in the 2005/2006 Year of Business (31 July), once again significantly increasing the result of the Company's core business. This was attributable first and foremost to the ongoing improvement of Porsche's model mix. The significant jump in the Group's pre-tax profits to Euro 2.110 (previous year: Euro 1.238) billion is mainly attributable, on the other hand, to non-recurring, one-off effects and special factors. These include the sale of CTS Fahrzeug-Dachsysteme GmbH, Bietigheim-Bissingen, with a book value of Euro 80.7 million, profits earned through the Company's share in Volkswagen AG amounting to Euro 203 million, as well as proceeds from stock price hedging transactions in connection with the acquisition of a share in Volkswagen high up in the three-digit million-Euro range.
Dividend payment up 80 per cent
The Group's annual surplus (profits after taxes) was up in the
2005/2006 Year of Business to Euro 1.393 (previous year: Euro 0.779) billion. The profit per share amounted to Euro 78.10 (Euro 44.68) for common stock and Euro 78.22 (Euro 44.74) for preferred stock. Porsche plans to pay shareholders a share in this outstanding development of the Company: The Annual General Meeting to be held on 26 January 2007 for the first time in the new Porsche Arena will be advised to increase the dividend to Euro 5.94 (Euro 4.94) for each common share and
Euro 6.- (Euro 5.-) for each preferred share. To provide for the high non-recurring profits, a special dividend of Euro 3.- per common and preferred share is also to be distributed to shareholders. This would increase the total dividend payment to Euro 157 (Euro 87) million, up by 80 per cent.
Healthy liquidity
Reflecting Porsche's excellent order book, liquid funds are up 31 per cent to Euro 4.75 billion. Net liquidity – liquid funds less financial accounts payable without financial services business – dropped only by a relatively small amount to Euro 1.881 billion despite acquisition of the Company's share in Volkswagen. The extended cash-flow, one of the most significant parameters for management of the Company, increased in the year under report from Euro 1.332 billion to Euro 2.1 billion.
Significant increase in sales and revenues
Selling a total of 96,794 cars, Porsche again set up a new sales record in the 2005/2006 Year of Business. The increase in sales over the previous year was 9.5 per cent. Group revenue was up by an even greater margin, growing 10.6 per cent to Euro 7.27 billion. This growth was driven by Porsche's sports cars, in particular the 911. The newly introduced Cayman models also received a great response from customers in markets the world over.
Significant increase in production
In the year under report Porsche's Main Plant in Zuffenhausen built a total of 36,504 units of the Porsche 911 – more than ever before. The Leipzig Plant built 35,128 units of the Cayenne and 290 units of the Carrera GT, which reached the end of its production as planned in May 2006. Including the well over 30,000 Boxsters assembled in Finland – the model range which also comprises the Cayman – production increased to a total of 102,602 units, up 12.8 per cent over the previous year.
Jobs created in Research and Development
Taking the sale of CTS Fahrzeug-Dachsysteme into account with approximately 910 employees, the number of Porsche Group employees increased in the year under report by 3.8 per cent to 11,384. New jobs were created above all in Research and Development as well as in the Services sector. On 31 July 2006, the day of the Annual Accounts, Porsche AG had exactly 8,257 employees, more than 3 per cent over the previous year's figure.
Outlook: Sales network in young markets continuing to grow
Porsche remains moderately confident in the 2006/2007 Year of Business, which started on 1 August. Considering fluctuations in the markets, discount battles and political restraints, even Porsche faces restrictions of this kind in the world today. However, Porsche will not in any way deviate from the Company's clearly profit-oriented – and not volume-oriented – business policy. Up to the launch of the
Porsche Panamera Porsche will focus on the consolidation of business on a high level. The company then expects the next major thrust in growth as of 2009 when the new four-door Sports Coupé enters the market.
Figures in the first four months of the current Year of Business nevertheless show that Porsche as a manufacturer of sporty premium cars is continuing successfully: Revenue in this period is up 0.7 percent to Euro 2.05 billion, sales show an increase by 0.4 per cent to
25,850 units sold. These include 10,350 units of the Porsche 911; with growth of this model series amounting to 8.5 per cent. The Boxster and Cayman are up 53.7 per cent to a total sales volume in the sane four months of 7,750 units. Reflecting its lifecycle, the Cayenne is down in sales by 29.2 per cent to 7,740 units. With the introduction of the new Cayenne in February 2007 Porsche expects an improvement of sales in this model series.
However, there is no longer the same direction of development in the various market regions. While Porsche sales in Germany are up 12.4 per cent to 3,950 units and in the rest of the world by an even more significant 15.3 per cent to 12,590 cars, sales in North America are down 17.6 per cent to 9,310 units. The high level of sales achieved in the previous year is to be maintained once again throughout all model series in the 2006/2007 Year of Business. Particularly the young markets will contribute to this sales volume, with the sales network in Russia, for example, growing to 16 dealers in the current Year of Business (compared with ten dealers in the previous year). The rate of expansion is even greater in China, with Porsche's presence in the market expanding from 12 to 20 dealerships.
GO
06.12.2006