Porsche Takes Legal Action Over German Reporting Requirements

by Ulrika Lomas, for LawAndTax-News.com, Brussels

09 April 2003

It emerged this week that Porsche, reportedly the world's most profitable car company, has taken legal action against the Frankfurt Stock Exchange over the bourse's reporting requirements.

In a drive to bring German reporting rules in line with those of the United States, Deutsche Boerse, the Frankfurt exchange's parent company insists that all leading listed companies should report on a quarterly basis.

Porsche has stated that it is only willing to issue a financial report every six months, but its refusal to abide by the rules has kept it out of the German market's 'Prime Standard'- a grouping of 379 companies which are deemed to meet international standards of corporate governance.

The company's exclusion from the Prime Standard also means that it is not included in the Dax, Germany's principal share benchmark, and its shares are therefore less likely to be purchased by index tracking investment funds.

Although the debate between Porsche and Deutsche Boerse began in 2001, the car company only recently decided to take action in an attempt to overturn the reporting requirements.

'Porsche relies on the credibility of its solid long-term strategy and a substantial and continuous policy of disclosure,' it argued in a recently released statement.

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