Porsche celebrates its stock market debut. At the start of trading, the share climbs to 84 euros - with a valuation of over 75 billion euros, the VW subsidiary is already leaving competitors such as Mercedes and BMW behind. Nevertheless, Porsche could not keep up the hype of the past few days, investor Christian Röhl sums up in an interview with ntv.de. Anyone hoping for quick money was disappointed. He advises investors who are flirting with the "P911" to have patience and be well prepared.
ntv: The hype surrounding Porsche's IPO was huge. In the drawing, investors scrambled for the Porsche shares - in the end they were issued at the maximum price of 82.50 euros. How did the start of the stock market go?
Christian Röhl: Not as fast as the hype promised in advance. On the off-exchange gray market, the share was 95 euros in the past few days. It started at 84 euros. That will disappoint many who were hoping for quick speculative gains. But it also shows once again: You don't get rich quick on the stock exchange. Nevertheless, Porsche managed to start above the emission value. So it's definitely a successful start for Porsche.
And that despite the difficult stock market environment. Investors have been holding back lately, the DAX even fell this morning. How could Porsche defy this?
On the one hand, the Porsche brand has great appeal and, on the other hand, it has a very stringent strategy, especially when it comes to electrification. There was certainly some advance praise for that. Also, there are many investors who can't help but be there for such a big IPO. Many have also promised themselves an attractive bonus in the subscription. Porsche has a price-earnings ratio of 16.5. That's little for a luxury brand, but a lot for a car manufacturer.
Porsche made the largest IPO since Telekom more than 25 years ago. There was a big celebration back then. Did the corks pop today?
A few Porsche racers were built, that's just part of it. In the past, however, the performances were much larger. 22 years ago, for example, when the then CEO of Infineon, Ulrich Schumacher, drove up to the stock exchange in a Porsche. Of course, right now is not the time to spray champagne like at a Formula 1 race.
How do you rate the IPO as an investor?
I also subscribed to a few Porsche shares. It's great for the German capital market that the company is back on the stock exchange and not just disappearing into shells like Volkswagen or Porsche Automobil Holding. Nevertheless, one should not overestimate that. Operationally, Porsche remains firmly anchored in the Volkswagen Group. Also, these are now only preferred stocks, not common stocks.
Are Porsche shares worthwhile for private investors?
You won't be able to make quick money with Porsche shares. I advise anyone who speculated on it to go outside now. That certainly earned him a nice lunch. In general, I have a lot of confidence in Porsche, but you need staying power and should be well informed about the company.
Porsche boss Oliver Blume hoped in advance that the VW subsidiary would give the whole market a boost. He spoke of an "icebreaker". Do you think that's possible?
That's unlikely. Porsche is not important enough for that in macroeconomic terms. I also don't believe that a single new issue can lead to many rising prices. Especially if, as in the case of Porsche, it consists exclusively of existing shareholders, Volkswagen AG. In addition, the stock has to assert itself against some governance deficiencies: The complex structures of the company and Oliver Blume as dual CEO of Porsche and Volkswagen.
In addition to the homegrown challenges, Germany is slipping into a recession. Will Porsche be able to stay on course despite the difficulties?
It is not yet possible to say how the market will develop for Porsche AG. Especially now that we are in a kind of smokescreen on the market, we have to drive on sight. Today, Porsche was able to defend the issue price against everyone who wanted to get out quickly, because getting rich quickly didn't work out. But now a balance has to be found. The difficult phase for the auto industry will play into this. But one must not forget: Porsche is both a car manufacturer and a luxury brand. Someone who wants to buy a Porsche for 100,000 euros is less affected by inflation anyway.
That reminds me of Ferrari. The sports car manufacturer went public in 2015 and has quadrupled its value since then.
Porsche has everything it needs to have a similar career on the stock market. However, one must not forget that the overall economic situation was better back then. In addition, Ferrari was not the super hit the first time on the stock exchange. This success story, too, was only built up over time through a fundamental basis, i.e. the operative business. If Porsche wants to follow in these footsteps, the operative business would also have to run like this. To do this, Porsche would finally have to adapt its governance structures to the volume of capitalization. Company values are created over years and not within a few days on the stock market.
Sarah Platz spoke to Christian Röhl
