Porsche Automobil Holding SE posted a 17 percent rise in second-quarter after-tax profits to 1.01 billion euros ($1.35 billion). Porsche SE’s sole asset is its majority stake in VW, acquired in 2012 when it sold its Porsche car manufacturing division to VW to settle a prolonged takeover dispute.
VW’s after-tax group profit rose 14 percent in the second quarter to 3.25 billion euros. Porsche SE said in a statement that it plans to spend the bulk of its cash pile, which eased to 2.54 billion euros from 2.61 billion last December, on acquisitions. The Stuttgart-based company has previously said it wants to invest in small and mid-sized firms “along the automotive value chain,” with a possible focus on drivetrains and safety technology.
Controlled through voting shares by the Porsche and Piech families, Porsche SE reaffirmed its guidance that full-year after-tax profits will be between 2.2 billion and 2.7 billion euros, compared with 2.4 billion euros in 2013. Porsche SE still faces investor lawsuits related to its unsuccessful 2008 attempt to take over the much larger VW. A 1.8 billion euro case brought by plaintiffs that include the U.S. fund Elliott Associates is scheduled to come before a German court next October.
