Porsche Holding Salzburg: another strong performance in 2018

2019-03-21

 

  • New record in wholesale
  • 2018 key figures:
    • Turnover: 20.4 billion euros
    • 743,000 new vehicle deliveries
    • 457 dealerships
    • 30,900 employees

 

Salzburg, 20 March 2019 - In 2018, Porsche Holding Salzburg (PHS) had a very successful financial year once again. As of the end of 2018, the company maintained wholesale and retail operations for Volkswagen Group brands in 27 countries; it even exceeded the high levels which were achieved the previous year and continues to perform well in the regions.

As a result of the mid-2017 sale of the multi-brand retail group PGA with 261 dealerships in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Poland, 55,000 new vehicle deliveries and turnover of 2.3 billion euros were lost in 2018. The decrease in new vehicle deliveries and turnover in 2018 is solely attributable to the sale of PGA.

In wholesale and retail, PHS achieved a sales volume of 743,000 new vehicles (-5.9%), i.e. around 47,000 fewer vehicles than in 2017*. Employee headcount rose to 30,900 (+5.4%). Turnover of 20.4 billion euros (-8.6%) was generated*.

*The decreases are solely attributable to the sale of the multi-brand retail group PGA in mid-2017.

 

New record in wholesale

In 2018, PHS achieved a total sales volume of 372,000 new vehicles in its 20 wholesale markets - an increase of 2.0% relative to the previous year. PHS maintains wholesale operations for Volkswagen Group brands in Austria and throughout the CEE region, as well as in South America (Colombia, Chile) and the ASEAN region (Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei).

"In view of the to some extent very difficult market situation and the switch-over to the new Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) in September, which dragged down business for us in the last few months of the year, we are very satisfied with the results for the 2018 financial year", said Dr Hans Peter Schützinger, adding that, "performance was particularly encouraging in South America and the ASEAN region, where we posted double-digit growth rates."

In 2018, 3,815 people (+2.9%) were employed in wholesale, generating turnover of 8.6 billion euros (+1.1%).

 

Stable performance in retail

PHS operates 457 dealerships (+30) in 25 countries, with 371,000 new vehicle deliveries (+0.2%)** in 2018. Employee headcount in retail amounts to 25,280 (+5.3%),** generating turnover of 14.2 billion euros (+1.9%)**.

Porsche Inter Auto (PIA) maintains retail operations for Volkswagen Group brands in Austria, the CEE countries and Poland. It operates 123 dealerships, with employee headcount of 8,260 (+5.5%), generating turnover of 4.0 billion euros (+8.2%). The volume of new vehicle sales increased to 124,300 units (+2.9%) in 2018.

** adjusted for PGA deliveries 1-5 2017

Eurocar Italia, a subsidiary of PHS, continued its strategic growth in Italy by acquiring three well-known dealer groups in Lombardy, in Verona (joint venture), and in Trent and Rovereto. It currently employs around 1,100 people at its 23 dealerships and will have more than doubled its sales volume, to around 28,000 new vehicles.

Volkswagen Group Retail operations in Germany, France and Spain increased their new vehicle sales volume to 151,400 units, an increase of 10.6% relative to the previous year. Their 11,645 employees (+2.4%) generated turnover of 6 billion euros (+6.5%). Much of this growth is the result of acquisitions in France, where PHS is reorienting its retail operations for Volkswagen Group brands. 

PHS also improved its retail results in China. The company currently operates 33 dealerships there, which achieved a sales volume of 35,000 new vehicles (+18%) and increased turnover by 14.5% to 2.2 billion euros. Employee headcount rose 18.7% to 2,460.

 

Increase in used vehicle sales

In 2018, PHS sold a total of 213,300 used cars, which represents an increase of 6.1% in used vehicle sales volume in all its markets (after adjustment for PGA sales volume in 2017). In 2017, the used vehicle figures included 56,000 used cars from the PGA Group, which ceased to be applicable in 2018 following the sale of the PGA Group.   

 

Porsche Bank extends market leadership

Porsche Bank further strengthened its market leadership in 2018. With a portfolio of just under 1,700,000 agreements***, in 2018 Porsche Bank Group successfully raised its figures once again. Porsche Bank is moving ahead very positively in all business areas. In Austria, the portfolio of leasing agreements increased by +10.45% to more than 177,407 units in 2018. In addition to the leasing agreements, around 32,000 loan financing products were sold. In total, Porsche Bank thus currently has a portfolio of approximately 210,000 financing agreements in Austria. New customer business made a significant contribution in 2018. Some 60,000 new leasing agreements were set up in Austria, which represents an increase of 3.18%. 

As a result of the acquisition of Volkswagen Versicherungsdienst (VVD) on 1 January 2018, there was significant growth in comprehensive cover policies. In total, Porsche Bank Group increased its portfolio of comprehensive cover policies by a total of 181,103 units (including the acquisition of VVD), and as a result, the portfolio rose to 413,136 comprehensive cover policies as of the end of 2018. In the fleet segment, Porsche Bank continued to strengthen its leadership position. With an increase of 1.3 percentage points, market share in fleet management rose to 41.7%.

sharetoo also saw an upward trend in 2018. The Porsche Bank and EUROPCAR carsharing solution was in use at 20 locations in 15 municipalities. In total, over 500 customers currently use sharetoo.

*** 370,000 financing, 1,200,000 insurance and 87,000 maintenance agreements 

 

Porsche Informatik on course for growth

Porsche Informatik provides innovative digital solutions to PHS and the Volkswagen Group. With its 600 IT and digitalization professionals, it is on a successful path to growth in a total of 27 countries. In spring 2019, an additional DigiLab will be opened in Vienna. Porsche Informatik is thus on its way to becoming one of Austria's largest software houses.

PHS key figures for 2018
Consolidated turnover 20.4 billion euros
New vehicles 743,000
Used vehicles 213,300
Number of dealerships 457
Number of employees 30,900