FRANKFURT: BMW’s third-quarter operating profit rose 33% thanks to stronger sales of sports utility vehicles and the absence of one-off headwinds which depressed earnings in the year-earlier quarter, the German luxury car maker said today.
The Munich-based company said its earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose to €2.29 billion (RM11 billion), up from €1.72 billion in the year-earlier quarter and ahead of the €2.16 billion forecast in a Refinitiv poll.
The operating margin at its automotive division rose to 6.6% from 4.4% in the year-earlier period when new emissions rules led to heavy discounting by competitors, hitting BMW’s profit margin on luxury cars.
BMW reiterated it expects a significant fall in group pretax profit, a slight increase in vehicle deliveries, and an EBIT margin of between 4.5% and 6.5% in the automotive division. – Reuters
