|
  |
|
 |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Porsche on track for record
FRANKFURT, Germany (CNN) -- Porsche, the world's most profitable car maker, said on Friday sales of the new Cayenne sports utility vehicle would propel profits to a new record. The maker of the $400,000 Carrera GT said net income rose 13.8 percent to 101.7 million euros ($93 million) in the first half of its fiscal year. Pretax profit in the six months to January 31 rose 18 percent to 185.1 million euros, while sales soared about 20 percent to 2.2 billion euros. Porsche, which is banking on sales of the Cayenne -- pitched against BMW's popular X5 and Ford's Land Rover -- to boost sales, has said it may struggle to sell as many of its 911 and Boxster models as it did last year.
But some analysts are concerned that expectations for the Cayenne may be riding too high, pointing out a potential shift to smaller-engined SUVs in the United States and a growing trend towards diesel in the luxury off-roader market in Europe. "Porsche is likely to find it difficult to top last year's operational and financial performance,'' investment bank SSSB, which has an underperform rating on the stock, said in a recent research note. Unit-sales in the first six months rose 5.2 percent to about 24,684 vehicles, according to preliminary figures. Sales of the 911 rose 4.3 percent to 13,697 vehicles, while sales of the entry-level Boxster fell 8.4 percent. While mass market car makers have been struggling with falling demand, luxury manufacturers, like BMW and DaimlerChrysler's Mercedes-Benz, have fared much better. Chief Executive Wendelin Wiedeking, who brought the company back from the brink of bankruptcy in the mid-1990s, expects the Cayenne to boost sales by about 50 percent. The Cayenne is priced at 100,000 euros and the Turbo version has a top speed of 266 kilometres (165 miles) an hour. The more modest Cayenne S, with a price tag of about 60,000 euros, has a top speed of 243 km an hour. Reuters contributed to this report.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
