Life & Style | Motoring
Porsche says results will bring out 'tears of joy'
Porsche results this year will bring joy to shareholders, its outspoken chief executive said on Friday before warning of new risks from regulatory efforts in Brussels and Berlin.
- Reuters
- Published: 00:19 January 26, 2008
Stuttgart : Porsche results this year will bring joy to shareholders, its outspoken chief executive said on Friday before warning of new risks from regulatory efforts in Brussels and Berlin.
Wendelin Wiedeking avoided explicit clues as to when Porsche might raise its 31 per cent voting stake in Volkswagen to a majority, but said nothing stood in the way after Europe's highest court struck down the German Volkswagen Law capping voting rights in October.
"Barring the unexpected, we should once again achieve a result where it will be difficult to suppress tears of joy," Wendelin Wiedeking told the company's annual general meeting.
Porsche declined this year to report earnings figures for its first half ending in January, until March when VW publishes fourth-quarter results. Porsche said revenue in the period was set to grow 14 per cent to 3.5 billion euros ($5.1 billion), lagging a 19 per cent rise in vehicle sales to a record 46,600 units.
"The operating profit in our car business is developing according to plan and our hedging transactions in the context of our long-term VW strategy look good," the CEO said.
Shares rise
Porsche shares rose as much as 7.8 per cent and traded up 4.2 per cent at 1,222 euros by 1146 GMT. VW shares rose 4.5 per cent.
Merrill Lynch said the stock was not cheap enough yet to compel it to change its neutral view on the stock, citing slower sales growth in the second half and a 43 per cent exposure to US and British consumers, which remains a concern.
"Porsche is well prepared for a possible economic crisis in the USA, with inventories in the local market having been significantly reduced," Porsche said.
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