Porsche's first-quarter falls as tariffs, Chinese market bite
First-Quarter Financial Performance and Market Challenges
By Rachel More
BERLIN, April 29 (Reuters) - Porsche on Wednesday said its first-quarter profit fell by more than a fifth as auto markets remain challenging, piling further pressure on CEO Michael Leiters to cut costs and revive sales.
Impact of Tariffs and Chinese Market Shift
Porsche has been hit by U.S. auto tariffs while Chinese consumers have increasingly turned away from the German luxury brand in favour of cheaper local alternatives.
Financial Results Overview
The automaker, majority-owned by Volkswagen, posted quarterly operating profit of 595 million euros ($696 million), down 22% year on year, making for a 7.1% margin, at the upper end of the forecast range.
Comparison with Previous Years
This follows a tough 2025, which saw Porsche's operating margin collapse to just 1.1%, a fraction of the 18% reported in the year of its blockbuster stock market listing in 2022.
Outlook and Strategic Response
Porsche said the first-quarter result supported its forecast for 2026 but warned that this did not include possible effects from the Iran war.
Tariff Pressures
The company is also under pressure from U.S. import tariffs, which cost the luxury sports car maker 200 million euros in the first three months of the year.
Leadership and Recovery Plan
Leiters was brought in at the start of the year to lead Porsche's turnaround, taking over from Oliver Blume who remains CEO of parent Volkswagen.
Cost-Cutting Measures and Strategic Focus
Leiters' recovery plan involves a focus on margin-boosting luxury models, such as the 911, and further cost cuts on top of almost 4,000 job cuts under his predecessor.
"The transformation is challenging and requires consistent action and discipline. All managers and employees are making an important contribution to this," Leiters said in a statement.
($1 = 0.8551 euros)
(Reporting by Rachel More; Editing by Christoph Steitz and Tomasz Janowski)
