The Volkswagen (VW), parent company Porsche SE, has on Wednesday significantly increased its profit in the first half of the year in spite of having to pay a new fine in connection with the diesel scandal.
According to the company, after taxes, the operating profit was 2.38 billion euros ($2.66 billion), in the same period in 2018, it was 1.9 billion euros.
Porsche’s profits were for the most part derived from the valuation of its VW shares after it increased its ownership of the VW brand to 53 per cent.
VW had net profits in the first half of the year of 7.2 billion euros or 8.4 per cent more than in the same period in 2018.
Sports car manufacturer Porsche AG, the brand and subsidiary of VW, had to pay a fine in the second quarter in connection with the diesel scandal of about 500 million euros.
However, in 2018, the diesel affair had burdened the balance sheet with even higher special costs.
Meanwhile, revelations that German carmakers built in software to make diesel emissions look less damaging than they actually were to meet stringent environmental regulations, broke out in 2015.
Overall, Porsche SE continued to expect earnings after taxes of 3.4 billion to 4.4 billion euros for 2019.
In 2018, it was around 3.5 billion euros.
