Porsche increased sales and operating profit in the first half of 2019 but special items related to diesel emissions fines took the shine off.
Sales revenue grew 9% year on year to EUR13.4bn and operating profit – before special items – rose 3% to EUR2.2bn; return on sales, again before special items, was 16.5%. Unit deliveries grew 2% to 133,484 vehicles. Workforce increased 5% to 33,839.
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The "diesel issue" resulted in special items of EUR0.5bn and knocked operating profit back to EUR1.7bn and return on sales to 12.5%.
In May 2019, the Stuttgart Public Prosecutor's Office fined Porsche EUR535m "in connection with deviations from regulatory requirements for certain vehicles", based largely on the profitability of the company. Reserves had been set aside in the first quarter and Porsche took the hit in the second.
The automaker said the results growth was due mainly to higher vehicle sales while currency effects and "expenses relating to the e-mobility offensive" countered that somewhat.
Porsche expects deliveries to increase in the 2019 financial year, driven in part by new products, and is also expecting a slight increase of sales revenue. Profit targets should be met, the automaker said.
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