Porsche profit – $1.82 billion in five months

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• Porsche profit – $1.82 billion

German luxury sports car maker Porsche said Monday that it made a net profit of 1.3 billion euros ($1.82 billion) for the five months from August to December.

Porsche is making a transition from a fiscal year that runs from August 1 to

July 31 to one based on the normal calendar year, as is the case with Volkswagen, ahead of a planned tie-up.

That merger could be delayed however owing to investigations into charges of stock manipulation against two former Porsche executives as they tried to buy VW in 2008.

For its 2009/2010 fiscal year, Porsche had reported a net loss of 454 million euros.

Between August and December, the company made most of its money through VW shares it owns.

Porsche, which owns 32.2 percent of the biggest European auto manufacturer, recently reiterated an upbeat outlook for 2011 after posting a 57 percent rise in sales for the five-month period to 40,446 vehicles.