2021 was “most successful year”
Porsche shines with record numbers
03/18/2022, 11:20 am
Corona pandemic, lack of chips, delivery bottlenecks: While many car manufacturers are currently stumbling, Porsche is experiencing a boom. 2021 is the most successful year in the history of the luxury sports car manufacturer. Nothing seems to stand in the way of jumping onto the floor.
The sports car manufacturer Porsche set records in 2021. CEO Oliver Blume described the past year as “the most successful in the history of Porsche”. As the company announced when the annual report was presented in Stuttgart, sales and the operating result reached new peak values. Accordingly, sales grew by 15 percent to 33.1 billion euros. The operating result rose by 27 percent to 5.3 billion euros. The bottom line was a profit of 4 billion euros in 2021, after 3.2 billion euros in the previous year.
Strategically, operationally and financially, Porsche is excellently positioned, said CFO Lutz Meschke. “That’s why we’re looking to the future with confidence – and welcome the consideration of an IPO for Porsche AG,” says Meschke. “In this way, Porsche could sharpen its profile and increase entrepreneurial freedom.” The company is regarded as a pearl of return for the VW Group and should be listed on the stock market before the end of this year, with feasibility tests underway.
In view of the Ukraine war, Porsche is looking at the clashes with great concern and dismay. At the beginning of March, Porsche announced that it would suspend its business in Russia because of the war against Ukraine. The war is having an impact on the supply chains, and orderly production is no longer possible in some cases. Last week, Porsche temporarily stopped the production of its Taycan e-sports car in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen because components were missing.
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“We have economically and politically challenging months ahead of us, but we are still sticking to our strategic goal, which has been firmly anchored for years, of securing an operating return on sales of at least 15 percent in the long term,” explained CFO Lutz Meschke. A task force constantly monitors the effects of the war on Porsche’s business and has taken measures to ensure profits. “We want to ensure that we can continue to meet our high earnings requirements. The extent to which we can achieve this also depends on external challenges that we cannot influence,” said Meschke cautiously.
Despite uncertain economic prospects, Porsche announced that it would intensify its electric offensive with another model in the middle of the decade. The 718 sports car will then only be offered fully electric, said Porsche boss Blume. He also raised the bar when it came to the sales target for pure electric cars: by 2030, more than 80 percent of new cars sold should be fully electric – so far the quota has applied to electrified models, i.e. both battery-electric and plug-in hybrids.