The 2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder debuts at the Los Angeles Auto Show in Los Angeles, Dec. 2, 2009. Porsche, based in Stuttgart, said at its annual general meeting Friday that it expects a 3.3 per cent decline in revenue to C2.9 billion during the August-January period, after nearly C3 billion in the year-ago period.

German sports car maker Porsche expects to increase 2010 sales to more than 75K

FRANKFURT, Germany — German sports car maker Porsche AG said Friday it expects to report a decline in revenue for the first half but to improve unit sales for the whole of the fiscal year, as the auto market continues to feel the effects of the economic downturn.

Porsche, based in Stuttgart, said at its annual general meeting Friday that it expects a 3.3 per cent decline in revenue to euro2.9 billion during the August-January period, from nearly euro3 billion in the year-ago period.

However, "On the basis of the strong performance in the second quarter, Porsche continues to assume that unit sales for the full fiscal year 2009 - 2010 will exceed the prior-year figure of 75,238 vehicles," Porsche said.

Porsche, whose fiscal year begins in August, did not release a net income forecast. The company's biggest shareholder is Volkswagen AG, Europe's largest carmaker.

Porsche said it expects to have sold 3.1 per cent less cars for the first six-month period, or about 33,200 vehicles, despite unit sales dropping by a quarter during the first four months.

The company said preliminary estimates show unit sales in North America dropped by about 16 per cent during the first half to about 11,000 vehicles. Europe's unit sales declined about six per cent to 10,200 vehicles.

In what Porsche classifies as "the rest of the world," the company said sales increased 18 per cent to about 12,000 vehicles.

Porsche said the Cayenne, a sports utility vehicle, remains the best-selling model, despite a 22 per cent decline in unit sales to 13,100.

Sales of the 911 sports car fell 45 per cent during the period to 7,400 units, while sales of the Cayman and Boxter will increase 14 per cent to about 4,500 units for the first half of the fiscal year.

The Panamera sedan, which has been on sale since late 2009, has sold about 8,200 units, Porsche said.

Shares of Porsche SE were 3.3 per cent lower at euro40.32, while shares of Volkswagen were nearly one per cent higher at euro64.58 in Frankfurt afternoon trading.