Porsche drops a gear as sales and profits slide

A DIP in sales added to costs from its failed attempt to take over Volkswagen pushed sports car maker Porsche's half-year net profit down by 83 per cent.

The maker of the 911, Cayenne and Panamera, said yesterday that it earned 957 million (858m) in the six months to 31 January, well below the 5.5 billion it reported the same time a year earlier.

The failed VW bid by Porsche caused it to post its first loss since 1994 after it was forced to write down options on VW shares.

Sales of its cars were down 1.7 per cent. The Cayenne, an SUV-inspired model, was its bestseller, with 13,454 cars sold but that was down 19.8 per cent on a year earlier.

The sporty and expensive 911 saw its sales drop nearly 45 per cent with 7,493 of the cars sold. Its two-seat Boxster model gained 11.3 per cent with nearly 4,400 of them sold in the six-month period.

Porsche Automobil Holding SE, based in Stuttgart, expects sales "to pick up" as it makes more of its four-seat Panamera models available.