Frankfurt (Germany) (AFP) – German sports car maker Porsche sunk to a third-quarter loss of almost one billion euros ($1.16 billion), the firm said Friday, as it grappled with the costs of returning to petrol and delaying its electric vehicle (EV) rollout. Operating profit — which strips out some costs such as tax — fell to 40 million euros for the first nine months of the year. Porsche said in July it had made an operating profit of 1.0 billion euros since the start of the year, meaning it lost about 960 million euros in the months after.
Finance chief Jochen Breckner said the results reflected the cost of Porsche reworking its product portfolio to shift back to petrol vehicles in the face of tepid EV demand. “This year’s results reflect the impact of our strategic realignment,” he said. “These measures are essential.” Porsche in September said it would delay the introduction of some fully electric cars and extend the life of some combustion engine and hybrid models.
Its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, booked a 5.1 billion euro hit to its profit for the year based on the costs of Porsche’s product rejig as well as cutting profit targets. Porsche has come under intense pressure from competitors in the top market China and is particularly vulnerable to US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, as it has no manufacturing footprint in the United States. Breckner told analysts and investors on a call that “tariff-related costs” had so far amounted to over 500 million euros.
© 2024 AFP
