VW shareholder Porsche SE eyes higher defence exposure as auto sector flails

(Reuters) -Volkswagen's largest shareholder, holding firm Porsche SE, said on Wednesday that it planned to deepen its involvement in the defence sector, while reaffirming its core focus on cars and industrial technology.

The move aligns with a broader trend among German auto and car parts makers. Companies like Volkswagen, Daimler Truck and Schaeffler have been exploring the defence industry as a potential growth avenue as Europe ramps up military spending.

The holding vehicle of the Porsche and Piech families, which owns 32% in Volkswagen and 12.5% in luxury carmaker Porsche AG, said it intended to launch an investment platform in cooperation with other investors and partners, targeting emerging companies in the defence space.

As part of this initiative, it would host a "Defense Day" event to connect German and European family offices with investment opportunities in the sector, it said without giving further details.

Independently of the platform, the company is intensively exploring investment opportunities in areas such as satellite surveillance, reconnaissance and sensor systems, cybersecurity and logistics, it added.

"The sector is hyped at the moment and likely to experience continued strong growth in the foreseeable future," said analyst Fabio Hoelscher from Warburg Research, though he noted no capital commitments had been made so far.

Porsche SE outlined the investment plans after cutting its full-year earnings forecast, weighed down by a weaker half-year performance and an outlook cut at Volkswagen, its largest portfolio company whose performance is heavily reflected in the holding firm's results.

While defence investments would counterbalance its cyclical automotive exposure to some extent, the sector is unlikely to become something as large and material for Porsche SE as its stakes in Volkswagen and Porsche AG in the short to medium term, Hoelscher said.

Porsche first flagged its intention to expand investments into the defence sector in March.

($1 = 0.8561 euros)

(Reporting by Amir Orusov in Gdansk; editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)