By Samuel Ee

BUSINESS seems to be picking up for Porsche, with Asia leading the way in terms of resurgent sales.

As with other premium manufacturers, the global downturn put the brakes on Porsche's sports car business and sales slumped as a result.

But in the third quarter, things seem to stabilise - especially in Asia.

"We have clearly seen signs of improvement globally in the past months, not the least due to the 4,500 orders for the Panamera already on the books," said Porsche spokesman Michael Baumann. "We are optimistic things will get better slowly."

Mr Baumann said it looks as though the Asian market will be first to turn around.

"Specifically, China is showing good sales in the past few months," he said.

And sales in Europe and the US recently bottomed out.

Last month, the German sportscar manufacturer said worldwide sales for its August 2008 to July 2009 financial year dropped 24 per cent year on year to about 75,200 units.

Among Porsche's key markets, the US was hit hardest by the downturn.

North American sales dived 30 per cent to about 22,700 units.

Outside the US, the drop in sales was 23 per cent to 40,300 units.

But overall revenue fell less - by only 12 per cent to an estimated 6.6 billion euros (S$13.8 billion) - as the car maker sold a richer mix of models.

Porsche CEO Michael Macht said last month these figures should mark the lowest point in the slump.

"Although the next few months will remain difficult, we are moderately optimistic for calendar 2010," he said at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

Mr Macht's confidence is based on the expected demand for Porsche's new fourth model series, the Panamera four-door, four-seater, as well as the latest version of the iconic 911 Turbo.

Despite the optimism, Mr Baumann declined to predict if sales this fiscal year will be higher those a year back.

"It is too early to say," he said. "Nobody knows if we are out of this financial crisis for good. We see encouraging signs. But our fiscal year ends in July 2010. That is a long time to go."

This article was first published in The Business Times.