Porsche aims to maintain its high profitability in 2013 by trimming down its investment spending and reducing next year’s costs to offset auto sales that are lower than forecasted. During the production launch of the new Boxster, Porsche brand chief Matthias Mueller said that a project may be delayed. He clarified that vehicle sales may be lower by 5-10% compared to its internal target. However, this should still be comparable to the figures in 2012. He said that Porsche will also moderately limit production in 2013. This year, European auto sales have been slow amid the continuing financial slump in the market. But then, the demand in China has been sluggish too.
From the start of this year until August, the global sales of Porsche have risen by 15% to 92,474 vehicles. Last year, Porsche achieved record global sales 118,867 vehicles – about 22% higher than the previous year. The U.S. and China are Porsche’s largest markets. Last July, Porsche said that it anticipates an increase in profits this year with its record auto sales that will help in offsetting the expense for launches and factory extensions.
In the first six months of this year, its operating profit had increased by around 20% to 1.26 billion euros ($1.55 billion) due to the robust sales of models like the 911 sports car and the Cayenne SUV. The revenue of Porsche in the first half increased by 30% to 6.76 billion euros due to increasing deliveries in the U.S. and China. Last August, Holding company Porsche SE sold its 50.9% stake in Porsche sports cars to Volkswagen, which meant that the brand is now a 100% owned subsidiary.
