Operating margins rose to 17% in the three months to June compared with 14.2% during the first quarter, the German manufacturer said Wednesday.
The positive glimpse comes amid a range of drags for Porsche, which lowered its annual outlook Tuesday saying flooding at a supplier will cut production.
Porsche said better product availability and a “strong mix” helped compensate for challenges in the second quarter, when its new Panamera and Taycan models hit the market.
Demand for the new 911 GTS-S T-Hybrid, presented in May, has “exceeded our expectations,” CEO Oliver Blume said in a statement.
The shares rose as much as 2.9% in Frankfurt with the stock still down around 12% since the start of the year.
Porsche’s performance has deteriorated in recent months amid waning demand for EVs and a broad and costly overhaul to its model portfolio.
In China — where the company’s deliveries have declined for five quarters in a row — consumers are shying away from big-ticket purchases as a protracted real estate crisis puts off luxury buyers.
The company has billed next year as a time of re-acceleration on the back of new cars like the all-electric Macan.
“There is an obvious product-led recovery story for Porsche,” but base earnings for this year and the timing of that recovery “continue to deteriorate,” Citi analyst Harald Hendrikse said in a note.
During the first half, operating profit fell by just over a fifth to €3.06 billion ($3.4 billion), though that still beat an average analyst forecast of €2.89 billion. The operating return on sales for the period fell three percentage points to 15.7%.
The supply chain woes triggering the annual outlook cut this week follow issues last year in getting parts for the Taycan, prompting deliveries to crater.
The renewed issues has led analysts to query the company’s risk procedures. Adding to the string of negative news, Porsche this week also walked back its electric-vehicle sales ambitions.
“As the transformation to electromobility is developing very differently around the world, we have already started to recalibrate and reprioritize projects and products” for combustion-engine technology, Porsche said Wednesday.
While Porsche says 2025 will see a turnaround, the outlook — particularly for EVs — remains unclear. Carmakers including Mercedes-Benz, GM and even Tesla have adjusted their EV ambitions because demand hasn’t met expectations.
In China, the biggest auto market where luxury electric models haven’t been selling well, drivers are gravitating to cheaper, locally made EVs.