BERLIN, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Porsche SE, the largest shareholder in the German automaker Volkswagen Group, has increased its stake in Volkswagen from 52.2 percent to 53.1 percent of the voting rights, chief executive officer (CEO) Hans Dieter Poetsch announced on Tuesday.

To purchase the additional 0.9 percent of the voting rights, Porsche SE had invested 400 million euros (454 million U.S. dollars) to buy shares from the free market.

"We remain convinced that the Volkswagen Group has considerable growth potential", and for this reason Porsche SE had decided "to further expand" its investment in Volkswagen, said Poetsch.

Porsche SE saw its profits increase to around 3.5 billion euros for 2018, 6 percent more than in the previous year, in part due to Volkswagen's increased operating profit last year.

Porsche SE would therefore be distributing 676 million euros to shareholders in the form of a dividend, Poetsch added. The proposed dividend of 2.21 euros per preference share for the fiscal year 2018 will be discussed at the annual general meeting in June.