Porsche CEO Sees Stable Earnings

   (FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 1/14/16) 
   By Ilka Kopplin

DETROIT -- Porsche AG Chief Executive Oliver Blume said he expects operating profit in the next few years to remain stable at around the level of the past two years, given high investments, speaking on the sidelines of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

In December, Porsche's supervisory board approved 1 billion euros ($1.09 billion) in outlays for the sports-car maker's electric-car project. That followed approval over the summer of a 1 billion euro package to modernize production sites. Mr. Blume said he couldn't rule out a decline in operating profit as a result, a reversal for the brand that contributed a big chunk of parent Volkswagen AG's profit in the past.

The brand's financial results could show some consolidation, Mr. Blume cautioned, but noted that depending on market and currency developments, operating profit could be slightly higher or lower than the average level attained over the past two years.

In 2014, Porsche's operating profit was up 5.4% from a year earlier, and jumped around 30% in the first nine months of 2015 to 2.55 billion euros.

Porsche ended the year on a positive note, he said. In the fall, the company forecast considerably higher sales and operating profit for the full year, compared with 2014. Deliveries, a proxy for sales, were up about 19% in 2015, to 225,000 cars.

For 2016, Mr. Blume expects growth in deliveries in at least a single-digit-percentage range.

Mr. Blume said he didn't expect parent Volkswagen AG's emissions scandal to harm the brand's image.

Mr. Blume took the helm at Porsche AG from Matthias Mueller, who was appointed chief executive of the Volkswagen group after the scandal broke in September.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 14, 2016 02:47 ET (07:47 GMT)

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