Porsche Automobil Holding SE reported a net 2011 profit despite a large non-cash, one-off charge related to revaluation of options, and said it expects to remain in the black this year.
The company squeezed a EUR37m (US$48.5m) profit after the revaluation of options to sell the remaining 50.1% stake in its core sports car business to Volkswagen which cut EUR4.37bn (US$5.7bn) from earnings.
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Chief financial officer Hans Dieter Poetsch said: “We expect Porsche SE to generate a significant profit before special effects at group level in 2012.”
He told a press conference that another one-off effect related to the option valuation will occur in 2012 but it is uncertain if it will be negative or positive.
Poetsch added: “All in all, and taking into consideration this special effect, Porsche SE considers a profit after tax in 2012 to be highly probable.”
Chief executive Martin Winterkorn reiterated the goal to forge an integrated company with Volkswagen remains unchanged. Winterkorn and Poetsch are also CEO and CFO of Volkswagen after Porsche’s ill-fated attempt to take over the much-larger automaker collapsed in 2009.
Porsche’s holding firm comprises the sports car business and a 50.73% voting stake in VW. As part of a complex agreement signed in August 2009 to forge a joint company, Volkswagen and Porsche granted each other put and call options to integrate Porsche’s sports car business into Volkswagen if a decision on a fully-fledged merger couldn’t be reached by the end of 2011.
As part of the deal, Volkswagen acquired a 49.9% stake in Porsche’s sports car unit for around EUR3.9bn (US$5.1bn). The companies were forced to abandon the initial merger plan last year because of legal and tax obstacles.
Porsche is set to benefit from economies of scale by sharing certain parts and technology as part of Volkswagen’s stable of brands.
The two firms already share production of the VW Touareg and Porsche Cayenne SUVs.
