(Missing word in 1st sentence of 5th paragraph added: "The companies afford ..." ("themselves" added).)

STUTTGART (dpa-AFX) - Behind the sports and off-road vehicle manufacturer Porsche lie successful months. The stock market launch last September is considered a success - and the annual figures also show a significant plus in almost all areas. Hendrik Schmidt from the Deutsche Bank fund subsidiary DWS said in the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart that Porsche had convinced the market and was outperforming its parent company VW. Porsche AG had invited its new shareholders there on Wednesday - and had to put up with plenty of criticism from investors and activists as well as praise.

This was most visible right at the beginning of the event: Not only were the access routes blocked by activists of the Last Generation. During Porsche CEO Oliver Blume's speech, for example, a woman stood up, shouting "filthy dividend," among other things, and held up a banner reading "Expropriate Nazi legacy." According to the activists, another woman stuck herself to a sports car, smeared it with blood-like paint and showed her bare chest. However, there was no throwing of a cake at Supervisory Board Chairman Wolfgang Porsche - as happened the other day at VW's annual general meeting.

In a joint statement of the action groups it was said that they wanted to set a sign - against an outmoded production of luxury vehicles as well as global exploitation and destruction, which the corporation continues to push in the name of dividends. The activists also criticized the lack of public discussion of the role of company founder Ferdinand Porsche in National Socialism.

The shareholders' criticism was once again ignited by Oliver Blume's dual role. The 55-year-old is also chairman of the board of the VW Group - and is thus the only manager to head two companies that are represented in Germany's most important share index, the Dax. Shareholder representatives fear this will lead to a loss of leadership and conflicts of interest between parent company and subsidiary.

The companies thus afford themselves a "part-time executive" - this was the view of Ingo Speich of the savings bank fund company Deka Investment. He again called on Blume on Wednesday to decide where he was more urgently needed. "Do not endanger Porsche," he said. "For you, too, the day has only 24 hours". Similar strong criticism came from representatives of Deutsche Bank's fund subsidiary DWS and the Deutsche Schutzvereinigung für Wertpapierbesitz, among others.

Already with the VW annual general meeting in May there had been therefore clear criticism. Blume countered on Wednesday: "The first months since I took office have shown: My dual role works." He said his role was designed to last - with benefits for Porsche and the VW Group. However, he said, precautions had been taken and rules drawn up for potential conflicts of interest.

Blume also pointed out that 2022 had been by far the strongest year in Porsche's history. On sales of 37.6 billion euros, bottom-line profit rose 22.8 percent to just under 5.0 billion euros. The margin climbed from 16 to 18 percent. For 2023, Porsche expects group sales of between 40 and 42 billion euro and a return on investment of 17 to 19 percent. In the long term, Blume is targeting a return of 20 percent.

Another topic of conflict in Stuttgart was the size of the dividend. Or rather, the dividends. Although the Porsche IPO in September was the largest German IPO since Telekom in 1996, only a quarter of the non-voting preferred shares are freely traded. To compensate for the lack of voting rights, a higher dividend is usually paid for these shares.

This is also the case at Porsche. 1.00 euros should be paid out for ordinary shares - 1.01 euros for preferred shares. This proposal was opposed by fund representatives and many small investors. The dividend gap is measly, said Schleich. Ten percent would be appropriate. However, since the more than 170,000 private investors have no voting rights, the dividend proposal passed unanimously at the Annual General Meeting./jwe/DP/stw