Stuttgart, 24 March 2020. The group result after tax of Porsche Automobil Holding SE (Porsche SE), Stuttgart, rose to 4.4 billion euro in the fiscal year 2019, an increase of 26.3 percent compared to the prior year (3.5 billion euro). This development was significantly influenced by the result from the investment accounted for at equity in Volkswagen AG, Wolfsburg, of
4.4 billion euro (prior year: 3.6 billion euro). As of 31 December 2019, group net liquidity added up to 553 million euro (prior year: 864 million euro). This decrease is primarily due to the acquisition of ordinary shares in Volkswagen in the first quarter of 2019.
Hans Dieter Pötsch, chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche SE: “Porsche SE’s financials and likewise its dividend policy are heavily influenced by the development of the Volkswagen Group. As a result, the successful performance and enhancement of shareholder value of Volkswagen is in Porsche SE’s very own interest.”
Positive development at other investments
Other investments of the Porsche SE Group also performed well during the past fiscal year. PTV Group (PTV), Karlsruhe, increased its revenue in the fiscal year 2019 to 116 million euro thanks to a strong fourth quarter. On the bottom line, PTV generated a double-digit revenue growth and a positive operating result (before PPA effects) of 5 million euro at PTV level. The new Executive Board of PTV has developed a strategy to align the company more strongly towards cloud-based solutions in the future. “As a long-term investor, we support PTV in this transformation. We are convinced that the new strategy will open up promising growth prospects for the company”, says Hans Dieter Pötsch.
In addition to this, Porsche SE holds stakes in four US technology companies. AEVA, Palo Alto/California, is specialized in the field of laser-based object recognition, for short, LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and has developed a highly integrated solution for this technology. Pötsch: “Due to its technical advantages, LIDAR is a key technology for advanced driver assistance systems and will be crucial for automated and autonomous driving. Our investment in AEVA will allow us to benefit from the expected exponential market development in the field of LIDAR in the long term.”
INRIX, Kirkland/Washington, is a leading provider of real-time traffic data. The two 3D printing specialists Markforged, Watertown/Massachusetts, and Seurat, Mountain View/California, also made progress in terms of selling and developing their products in 2019.
Legal disputes ongoing
On the legal side, a case according to the Capital Markets Model Case Act (KapMuG) against Porsche SE in connection with the expansion of the investment in Volkswagen AG is pending with the Higher Regional Court of Celle for more than three years. The plaintiffs are claiming overall damages of around 5.4 billion euro. According to a preliminary view of the Higher Regional Court of Celle, there is no legal basis for the claims. Porsche SE shares this opinion.
Porsche SE is still facing investor lawsuits in connection with the diesel issue. A total of 199 proceedings are currently pending before the Regional Court of Stuttgart, two proceedings before the Higher Regional Court of Stuttgart and 30 proceedings before the Regional Court of Braunschweig. Claims are being made for damages of around 1.1 billion euro. Porsche SE regards the lawsuits brought against the company in connection with the diesel issue to be without merit and in some cases also to be inadmissible, and is convinced that it will prevail in all proceedings that are still ongoing.
Dividend increase to 3.11 euro per preference share
The Executive Board and Supervisory Board propose a further increase in the dividend for the fiscal year 2019 compared to the prior year. Holders of preference shares are to receive
3.11 euro (prior year: 2.21 euro) per share, holders of ordinary shares 3.104 euro (prior year: 2.204 euro) per share. This results in a payout of around 952 million euro (prior year: 676 million euro). This proposed dividend will be presented for decision to the annual general meeting.
Forecast for 2020
When the consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year 2019 were authorized for issue, the Executive Board of Porsche SE, based on the current group structure of the Porsche SE Group and the Volkswagen Group, expected a group result after tax of between 3.5 billion euro and 4.5 billion euro for the fiscal year 2020. Based on this estimate, net liquidity of the Porsche SE Group is expected to range between 0.4 billion euro and 0.9 billion euro as of 31 December 2020, not taking future investments into account.
Porsche SE's group result after tax is substantially influenced by the development of earnings of the Volkswagen Group, which in 2020 will be shaped in particular by uncertainties resulting from the globally rapidly progressing spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the last few days and the combined turmoil on the capital markets and in the real economy. The forecasts of Porsche SE for the fiscal year 2020 are therefore equally subject to high uncertainties.
The Annual Report 2019 of Porsche Automobil Holding SE can be found at: https://www.porsche-se.com/en/investor-relations/financial-publications/
