LAST WEEK TMR reported that not only had Porsche’s purchase of a 51 percent majority stake in Volkswagen left it some US$15 billion in debt, but it was facing a $4.4 billion operational shortfall (and had borrowed US$1.2 billion from Volkswagen earlier this year).

Now it seems a gap has appeared in the clouds of Stuttgart, with Claus Schmiedel, a member of parliament at Porsche’s home state of Baden-Wuerttemberg reporting that Porsche will sell around 80,000 cars this fiscal year, leading to a profit of between $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion.

Schmiedel said that he had spoken with Porsche’s Finance Chief and gone over the supercar manufacturer’s books.

“On an operating level Porsche does not have a problem - unlike other producers,” Schmiedel told Reuters, adding that Porsche will benefit from an operating margin of 12 percent.

The MP went on to say that in 2010, Porsche expects to go one better, selling 100,000 cars and delivering a profit of more than AU$1.7 billion.

Porsche has denied any suggestion it would not be able to deal with its massive debt.

[via Reuters]