Porsche on Friday announced a cost-cutting programme and further production cuts after the German sports carmaker and owner of a majority stake in Volkswagen reported a fall in half-year operating profits and a sharp drop in sales.

Wendelin Wiedeking, Porsche’s chief executive, said the company had initiated a programme to cut costs by far more than €100m ($128m) and would idle its plants for another 19 days before this year’s summer break.