In the first three months of 2014, Porsche Automobil Holding SE (aka Porsche SE) reported group profit of EUR728m (prior year: EUR601m). This mainly resulted from the profit from the investment accounted for at equity in Volkswagen AG of EUR732m (prior year: EUR600m).
As of 31 March 2014, the equity of the Porsche SE group decreased to EUR28.52bn (31 December 2013: EUR30.47bn). This decrease is mainly attributable to an effect to be recognised directly in equity with no effect on the consolidated income statement at the level of the Volkswagen group in connection with Volkswagen AG’s tender offer to the shareholders of Scania AB for the acquisition of all A and B shares in Scania.
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On the legal side, Porsche SE achieved a further stage victory in the first three months of 2014. In March 2014, the regional court of Stuttgart dismissed a claim brought by US hedge funds for damages in the amount of approximately EUR1.36bn (plus interest). 19 of the 23 plaintiffs filed appeals against this decision with the higher regional court of Stuttgart. As a result, the total amount of damages asserted in these proceedings has decreased to EUR1.18bn (plus interest). Five further proceedings are currently being heard before the regional court of Braunschweig. The court has announced that it will annouce decisions in three of these proceedings on 30 July 2014.
As in the prior year, the group profit/loss of Porsche SE for the current fiscal year will be largely dependent on the profit/loss of the investment in the Volkswagen group accounted for at equity that is attributable to Porsche SE. Overall, based on the current group structure, the company continues to expect a group profit for the year of between EUR2.2bn and EUR2.7bn.
