After a very successful Initial Public Offering late last month, Porsche has not only had the largest opening in the history of Europe’s stock exchange, but it has also injected so much cash into the company that it became more valuable that its ‘parent’ Volkswagen.
On the market’s close on Friday, Oct 7th, Porsche shares were valued at EUR 93 each (NZD 161.45 at today’s exchange rate), which gives the German automaker a total valuation of around EUR 85bi, or almost NZD 150bi. This now puts Porsche ahead of Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Stellantis, which were occupying the top spots until now.
“Making our customers’ dreams come true is what drives us. Today, a big dream comes true for us. With the completion of the IPO, we are beginning a new chapter in the unique history of our company,” says Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG. “This is a historic moment for Porsche. Above all, I would like to thank our more than 37,000 dedicated colleagues worldwide and all who have enabled us to announce our successful IPO today.”
With almost EUR 20bi raised from the IPO alone, Porsche’s witty P911 exchange ticker is now among the top-5 from companies from Germany overall behind Linde, SAP, Deutsche, Telekom and Siemens. In Europe terms, it sits in the 25th spot now.
Porsche is in a robust financial position. For the year ending 31 December 2022, the brand responsible for some recent heavy hitters such as the 992 911 GT3 RS expects an operating return in the range of 17 to 18%. They also foresee growth in cash flow margin, targeting a margin of approximately 12.5 to 14%, and long term operating return on sales of more than 20%.
This comes after another success story of a luxury car brand to go public to reap great benefits. In 2015, Ferrari did just the same and while it had a bumpier start, it returned great dividends in the longer term, especially as demand for luxury goods seems to go on the opposite way of the current market uncertainty and slowdown we see elsewhere. CEO Oliver Blume continues: “Today, a big dream comes true for Porsche. Our increased degree of autonomy puts us in a very good position to implement our ambitious goals in the coming years.”
