Car industry Porsche performs better in the second quarter

Sports car manufacturer Porsche has had a better run in the second quarter of the year. However, the first half of the year saw a decline. Porsche boss Blume has already lowered the annual forecasts.

After a weak start to the year, sports car manufacturer Porsche AG got back on track in the second quarter. The operating return on sales for the three months from April to June was 17.0 percent, according to the DAX-listed company, which is majority-owned by the Volkswagen Group.

Analysts had expected an average margin of 16.3 percent. In the first quarter, it had amounted to 14.2 percent because, among other things, high research and development costs were incurred and Porsche is currently launching many new models on the market.

Despite the better performance in the second quarter, Porsche CEO Oliver Blume had previously lowered the annual forecast this week. Due to the consequences of flooding at an aluminum supplier, the Stuttgart-based company is expecting production delays.

Sales and operating result down

In the first half of the year, the introduction of new and refreshed models and weak sales in China led to further declines in business. Turnover fell by almost 5 percent to 19.5 billion euros; the operating result shrank by a good fifth to 3.06 billion euros. The operating margin thus fell by more than 3 percentage points to 15.7 percent. For the year as a whole, the management is aiming for a range of 14 to 15 percent.

Combustion engine comes back into focus

CFO Lutz Meschke announced that, in the context of the difficult market situation for electric cars, the focus will return to the combustion engine. "As the transformation to electromobility is developing very differently around the world, we have already begun to recalibrate and prioritize projects and products with regard to combustion technology," he said in the press release. The strategy includes the greatest possible flexibility in the production of the various drive types.