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<h5 class="presshead">Porsche Up Once Again <span class="subTitle">Sales of Sports Premium Cars up Almost Ten Per Cent[/quote]</h5>


Stuttgart. Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, has exceeded its expectations in the 2005/2006 year of business, which ended on July 31. As the company stated on the eve of the Paris Motor Show, Porsche has reached new record levels in revenue, sales, and profits. According to provisional figures, revenue of the Porsche Group was up 10.6 per cent to approximately Euro 7.27 billion (previous year: Euro 6.57 billion). Profits increased overproportionally versus revenue growth. This is attributable to special effects such as the sale of the car roof production company CTS Fahrzeug-Dachsysteme GmbH as well as effects resulting from the company’s share in Volkswagen. Profits continued to increase even without these special factors.


Group sales were up 9.5 per cent to a total of 96,794 cars (previous year: 88,379 units). This growth was driven in particular by Porsche’s new sports cars, the 911 accelerating by 23.6 per cent to 34,386 units; never before have so many 911s been sold in one year of business. With sales of the two most powerful models, the 911 Turbo and 911 GT3, starting in June 2006, the new generation of this model series so rich in tradition has now been introduced almost completely in markets the world over. Starting in November, the new 911 Targa will also be at the dealership.


Up by 55 per cent, the increase in Boxster sales was even more significant. Out of the record figure of 27,906 units, 14,002 of the cars sold were new Cayman models. The market launch of the more powerful Cayman S had started in November 2005, the “basic“ version of the Cayman following just before the end of the last business year in July 2006.Sales of the Cayenne amounting to 34,134 units (previous year: 41,884 units) reached the same high level as the 911 even though the Cayenne was already in its fourth model year and Porsche as a company consistently maintains its policy not to grant any discounts on its SUV. Sales of the Carrera GT ending production as planned in May 2006 amounted to 368 units in the business year now under report (previous year: 660 units).


Total production was 102,602 units, 12.8 per cent more than in the previous year (90,954 units). Production of the 911 in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen amounted to 36,504 cars, an increase over the previous year by 27.6 per cent. The Boxster model series assembled almost entirely in Finland due to great demand for both the 911 and the Boxster and Cayman models, reached an overall production volume of 30,680 units, an increase by 51 per cent. In Leipzig production of the Cayenne model series amounted to 35,128 units (down by 14.9 per cent) as well as 290 units of the Carrera GT (previous year: 715 units). This makes the Carrera GT the most successful high-performance sports car of all times, amounting to a total production figure of 1,282 units.


Despite all economic imponderables, Porsche is confident that in the current 2006/2007 year of business sales will at least achieve the exceptionally high level of the business year now over. This expectation is also attributable to the company’s further enhanced and even more attractive model range, as well as the ongoing penetration of new markets. Particularly in rapidly growing markets such as Russia, China, and the Middle East, Porsche cars are in increasing demand. Porsche expects the next major boost in growth as of 2009, when the four-door Panamera sports coup&eacute; is launched.
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<h5><span class="mainarttitle"><span class="mainarttitle"><span class="news_story_title">Porsche 2006 Profit Rises Faster Than Sales Growth [/quote][/quote][/quote]</h5>
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By Jeremy van Loon


Sept. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Porsche AG, the maker of the Boxster sports car, said full-year profit rose faster than the 11 percent increase in revenue, helped by revamped models including a new 911 Turbo.


Revenue in the year ended July 31 increased to 7.27 billion euros ($9.23 billion) while vehicle sales climbed 9.5 percent to 96,794 units, said Frank Gaube, a spokesman. The Stuttgart, Germany-based company didn't provide profit numbers.


Chief Executive Officer Wendelin Wiedeking last year added new sports cars to make up for sagging demand for the Cayenne sport-utility vehicle, which accounts for almost half of the company's sales. Porsche is introducing a fourth model, the Panamera, which will go on sale in 2009. The carmaker earned more than 4,000 euros per vehicle sold in the first half, more than any of its main competitors.


``They've been able to maintain a strong level of sales growth without using incentives, and that will show up on the bottom line,'' said Marc-Rene Tonn, an analyst at M.M. Warburg in Hamburg.


Shares of Porsche fell as much as 8.69 euros, or 1.1 percent, to 811.16 euros and were down 0.6 percent at 815 euros as of 12:09 p.m. in Frankfurt. The shares have risen 34 percent this year, compared with an 11 percent gain in Germany's benchmark DAX Index, valuing the carmaker at 14.2 billion euros.


Sales for the current fiscal year will remain at ``the same high level,'' Gaube said. Profit last year increased even excluding a one-time gain from the sale of a division and a dividend payment from Volkswagen AG.


Gains vs Costs


Earnings this year have been helped by a one-time gain from disposing of a division and burdened by the cost of developing the Panamera, Porsche said in June when it released 10-month revenue figures. The company sold the CTS Fahrzeug-Dachsysteme GmbH automotive-roof unit last December to Magna International Inc for about 170 million euros.


Porsche in its previous fiscal year reported net income of 782.5 million euros and revenue of 6.57 billion euros.


The 911 Turbo, the most expensive of the 911-model range, starts at $122,900 in the U.S., while the Cayman costs $58,900. Porsche's least expensive sports car, the Boxster, is priced at $45,000. The Cayenne ranges in price from $42,200 to $111,600.


Porsche is spending 1 billion euros to develop the Panamera, the company's first four-door sports car. The model, whose body will be built at Volkswagen's factory in Hanover, Germany, will go on sale in 2009.


The four-seat Panamera will be the third major new model introduced since Wiedeking took over at Porsche 12 years ago. The automaker expects to sell 20,000 units of the vehicle annually out of a total segment of about 1 million units.


Cayenne's Contribution


The Cayenne, the SUV that Porsche introduced in 2002, helped the carmaker raise earnings in the past three years. The model is the first vehicle other than a sports car that Porsche has made since shortly after World War II, when it built tractors. The Cayenne competes with Bayerische Motoren Werke AG's X5 and DaimlerChrysler AG's Mercedes-Benz M-Class.


Porsche's net income as a proportion of sales is the highest in the industry at 11.9 percent for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2005, the most recent with complete figures. That compares with 7.5 percent at Toyota Motor Corp., the world's second- biggest carmaker, for the year ended March 31, according to Bloomberg data.
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<span class="mainarttitle"><span class="mainarttitle">UPDATE[/quote]

[/quote]<span class="mainartdate">09.27.2006, 07:32 AM[/quote]


<span class="mainarttxt">STUTTGART (AFX) - Porsche AG said its full year to end-July 2006 revenues grew 10.6 pct to about 7.27 bln eur from 6.57 bln while earnings were significantly higher than sales growth.[/quote]



<span class="mainarttxt">It said even excluding one-offs, they were still higher than the previous year's levels.[/quote]



<span class="mainarttxt">The company's statement did not disclose figures on earnings other than to say it included one-offs from the sale of CTS Fahrzeug-Dachsysteme GmBH and the costs to acquire its shareholdings in Volkswagen AG.[/quote]



<span class="mainarttxt">Porsche has not given a breakdown on the price it paid for the VW stake, of which 18.53 pct was acquired last year and a further 3.4 pct this year. But it said last year the VW shares would cost around 3.5 bln eur.[/quote]



<span class="mainarttxt">It said last year that it had sold CTS Fahrzeug-Dachsysteme to Magna International for 170 mln eur.[/quote]



<span class="mainarttxt">Porsche said today unit sales were up 9.5 pct at 96,794 compared with 88,379, driven mainly by the 911 and the Boxster models.[/quote]



<span class="mainarttxt">It produced a total of 102,602 vehicles, or up 12.8 pct than the previous year's 90,954 units.[/quote]



<span class="mainarttxt">For the current business year to end-July 2007, it said that despite uncertainties in the overall economy, it is 'confident' unit sales will 'at least match the extraordinarily high levels' achieved in the previous business year.[/quote]



<span class="mainarttxt">The confidence stems from improvements in the 'breadth and attractiveness' of its product portfolio as well as continuing advancements in opening new markets, such as in Russia, China and the Middle East.[/quote]



<span class="mainarttxt">'Porsche expects the next major growth impulse will be from 2009 when the four-door sport coupe Panamera is launched in the market,' it said.[/quote]






Edited by - mpollard on 09/27/2006 11:49:43 AM

Interesting, not a word about Cayman S sales.

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formerly rhersberger

They don't mention the 'sales' of any of their cars. The article is more about the overall health of the company. They do, however, mention the base price of the CS ($58,900). I'm curious, why do you say it's interesting that they don't mention Cayman S sales?

Because it is new model in Porsche's line-up for the reporting year. The article talks about the Cayenne's contribution and the cost of developing the Panamera, so the article does mention individual models. I was simply looking for a statement like, 'The new Cayman S contributed xxxxx in sales for the fiscal year.' Some Cayman S sales probably took away from Boxster numbers and, possibly, from entry level Carerras. However, Porsche's clear marketing aim with the Cayman S is to attract first time Porsche buyers.

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formerly rhersberger

The article was written by an analyst at Bloomberg -- at best by an analyst. Note the reference to '911 Turbo' and '911 models', this is obviously not some one with the knowledge to correctly refer to 987 and 997 platforms. Maybe the rep from Porsche that they interviewed threw out the term for simplcity's sake, so you can't totally fault the author, but I wouldn't read anything into the lack specific acknowledgement of the Cayman S. The good news is that Porsche is profitable and will continue to invest in the improvement of their line. You can expect that from now to the introduction of the Panamera, there will be little market analyst focus on the already successful Cayman -- unless its bad[img]/fckeditor/editor/images/smiley/MWPX/whatchutalkingabout_smile.gif[/img].

The complete PAG Press Release has been posted above. Specifically about the Cayman it reads:


Up by 55 per cent, the increase in Boxster sales was even more significant. Out of the record figure of 27,906 units, 14,002 of the cars sold were new Cayman models. The market launch of the more powerful Cayman S had started in November 2005, the “basic“ version of the Cayman following just before the end of the last business year in July 2006.


The Boxster model series assembled almost entirely in Finland due to great demand for both the 911 and the Boxster and Cayman models, reached an overall production volume of 30,680 units, an increase by 51 per cent.




Edited by - mpollard on 09/27/2006 11:48:01 AM

Profits climb faster than sales growth?


That says it all about the extortionate price of Porsche's options![img]/fckeditor/editor/images/smiley/MWPX/thumbsup.gif[/img]

Fadiboy:



I think reading the entire press release makes my point. The Bloomberg report is inadequate. Neither 987 or 997 is mentioned in the press release because these model designations are Porschephile jargon.

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formerly rhersberger