Wiedeking: Dollar Doesn't Worry Porsche
From TheCarConnection (click here for link to web page)
Quote:
Speaking to journalists at the launch of Porsche's new 911 convertible in Spain, the Chairman of Porsche's board of directors, Dr Wendelin Wiedeking, said that the weakness of the dollar was not a problem for the company, which is renowned for its profitability. "We would still be showing a profit on US sales if we were operating at current dollar/euro exchange rates," he said.
But the company is not operating on today's low dollar values. Porsche learned the pitfalls of currency fluctuations in the early 1990s, when it nearly went under. Hedging - setting an exchange rate for future earnings well before they are received - became a vital part of the restructuring plan that has seen the German sports car specialist prosper under Wiedeking's leadership. The rate Porsche gets for the dollars it earns today was set years ago, and future earnings have also been 'insured' in a similar fashion. "I could tell you what we will get for our dollars in 2007 or 2008," Wiedeking told the journalists. "I'm not going to, of course!" Dr. Wiedeking said that he was confident that the dollar would rise again, as part of the ebb and flow of international trade and finance, but that it was difficult to forecast such changes.
The US is still Porsche's biggest market, but the proportion of total sales it represents is gradually diminishing. Over the last five years, as other markets grow - Porsche now exports to twice as many countries as it did just a few years ago - the proportion of production that crosses the Atlantic has fallen from 46 percent to 41 percent.
The company is maintaining the progress it has shown in recent years by reporting a 6.4-percent increase in production for the six months to the end of January, in which 38,800 units came off the lines. Sales were up by 13.3 percent, revenues by 3.4 percent, to 2.95 billion euros, and earnings increased by 6.5 percent to 225 million euros. The company expects that this year it will show its eleventh consecutive year of increased profits.
The Cayenne, the performance SUV Porsche launched two years ago, continues to make a big contribution to sales and profits. And with an increase of 19.5 percent over its predecessor, the new 911, which came to market in late 2004, is helping rebuild sports car sales.
Wiedeking denied rumors of a diesel-engined Cayenne, but confirmed that the company was looking at hybrid gasoline/electric power for the big SUV. Weight is the big drawback of a hybrid from the point of view of a performance-oriented manufacturer, he said, and Porsche's research and development engineers were looking at ways to reduce the weight and bulk of hybrid-drive components. "We couldn't do a hybrid 911," he joked, "because we would have to give up the passenger seat for the batteries!" -Ian Norris
. I'm fearing that after he leaves somone from BMW or MB will take over and GOD bless Porsche then 
.
That's right, at the FRONT of a 911! 
