Porsche significantly lowers forecast
In China, the sports car manufacturer Porsche $P911 (+2.3%) is facing a serious sales crisis. In the first quarter, the company recorded a 42 percent drop in sales. This decline is not only due to weak demand in China, but also to the US import tariffs, which are weighing heavily on Porsche. As a result, the company has revised its annual targets sharply downwards. The return on sales will now be between 6.5 and 8.5 percent, whereas previously a range of 10 to 12 percent was targeted. Turnover will be reduced by 1 to 2 billion euros, so that it should now be between 37 and 38 billion euros. In the worst case scenario, operating profit could fall to just 2.4 billion euros - a massive drop compared to 5.6 billion euros in the previous year. A key factor in this development is the US tariffs, which force Porsche to import vehicles from North America, increasing costs by 25 percent. In addition, Porsche is currently holding back deliveries to the USA in order to better assess the impact of the tariffs. The planned reorganization of battery production also poses a challenge, as Porsche wants to realign its activities in this area in order to be able to react more flexibly to market changes.
Deutsche Bank reports highest quarterly profit in 14 years
In the USA, Deutsche Bank $DBK (+4.74%) achieved an impressive quarterly profit in the first quarter of 2023, reaching its highest level in 14 years. Pre-tax profit rose by 39% year-on-year to over €2.8 billion, while net profit climbed to around €1.8 billion. This profit growth is the result of better business in all areas as well as targeted savings. Investment banking in particular contributed around 3.4 billion euros to the increase in earnings. CEO Christian Sewing emphasized that the company has already achieved 85 percent of the targeted cost reductions of 2.5 billion euros. The "Deutsche Bank 3.0" restructuring program is intended to increase the company's efficiency, with the aim of achieving a return on equity of over 10 percent by 2025. A figure of 11.9 percent was already achieved in the first quarter, underlining the positive development.
Sources:
https://www.n-tv.de/wirtschaft/Porsche-streicht-seine-Prognose-zusammen-article25733168.html