Porsche 9-month profits rise despite "dieselgate" fines

Profits at Porsche SE have risen significantly during the first nine months of 2018, earnings figures published on Tuesday by the German automotive holding company showed.

Porsche SE achieved total profits of 2.67 billion euros (3.05 billion U.S. dollars) between January and September, marking an increase of around 25 percent compared to the same period last year.

The Stuttgart-based company noted that the development was "significantly influenced by" 2.74 billion euros in profits derived from its equity in Volkswagen AG.

Net liquidity was measured at 961 million euros as of Sept. 30, up from 937 million euros as of Dec. 31, 2017. The equity of the Porsche SE Group increased to a total of 32.52 billion euros (31.29 billion euros as of Dec. 31, 2017), in particular due to the group profit for the period.

Porsche SE owns the majority of voting rights in the Wolfsburg-based Volkswagen Group. Notably, the favorable earnings figures during the first three quarters of the year were posted in spite of the imposition of hefty fines against some of its automotive investments in the ongoing diesel emissions scandal.

The holding company currently expects its result for the fiscal year 2018 to come in at 2.5-3.5 billion euros after forecasting higher profits in a range from 3.4-4.4 billion euros earlier.