By Rachel More
BERLIN (Reuters) -A crisis at luxury carmaker Porsche AG hit earnings at top shareholder Porsche SE in the first nine months of the year, with adjusted profit after tax falling by over a third, the holding company said on Tuesday.
Porsche SE, controlled by the Porsche and Piech families, is Volkswagen Group’s top investor with 31.9% of shares and 53.3% of voting rights. It also owns 12.5% of luxury carmaker Porsche AG, with much of the rest held by the Volkswagen Group.
In the January-to-September period, Porsche SE reported adjusted earnings after tax of 1.6 billion euros, down 36% on the previous year.
It said the result was “significantly influenced” by problems at Volkswagen and Porsche AG, which are facing billions in costs this year after the luxury carmaker delayed an electric vehicle rollout as it scrambles to stem falling demand in China.
Porsche SE finance chief Johannes Lattwein said however that the holding company had improved its financing structure, making it resilient “even in the challenging environment in the automotive industry”.
Porsche SE issued a profit warning in September, lowering its forecast margin to 2% from a previous range of 5% to 7% due to the ripple effects of the strategy reversal at Porsche AG.
(Reporting by Rachel More, Editing by Miranda Murray)
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