Porsche to Maintain Dividend Despite Higher Costs

Porsche to Maintain Dividend Despite Higher Costs

The Volkswagen luxury sports car subsidiary Porsche plans to keep its dividend at last year’s level despite higher costs linked to efforts to improve profitability.

The German car manufacturer said that, pending final approval from the supervisory board, it would propose maintaining the dividend at approximately the same level at the annual general meeting.For 2023, Porsche paid €2.31 ($2.40) per preference share.

Porsche plans to tackle the ongoing challenges with a costly set of measures. The Stuttgart-based company is investing heavily this year to develop new cars with combustion engines or plug-in hybrid drives, while also expanding its offering of special and exclusive equipment.

The company expects planned measures to weigh on cash flow in its automotive division — excluding financial services — by up to €800 million in 2025.

Porsche forecasts sales revenue of €39 billion to €40 billion in 2025, with an operating return on sales of 10% to 12%.

In 2024, the return was at the lower end of its 14% to 15% forecast range.

Investors have had little to cheer about recently, with Porsche’s share price struggling since its record rally following its initial public offering in September 2022.

The stock hit a peak of around €120 in May 2023 but has since lost significant value.

Currently, the share price is roughly half of its peak value and sits about 25% below the initial issue price of €82.50.

(dpa)