BMW profits down 36 per cent after slump in luxury car sales

Mar 11, 2010, 13:16 GMT

Munich - The world's leading luxury carmaker BMW unveiled Thursday a 36-per-cent drop in profit last year as falling global demand hit the group's sales.

Munich-based BMW said net profit last year came in at 210 million euros (286 million dollars) down from 330 million euros in 2008 after luxury car sales around the world tumbled as a result of the recession.

BMW chief Norbert Reithofer expressed optimism about the outlook for 2010 and reaffirmed the company's sales target for the year as the global economy emerges from its biggest downturn in more than six decades.

'Our new models will provide us with a tailwind over the course of the year,' Reithofer said.

'We fully intend to remain the world's leading provider of premium cars in 2010 and plan to increase sales within the single digit percentage range to over 1.3 million vehicles' he said.

Total group sales including the company's core BMW brand, its compact Mini and premium Rolls Royce came in at 1.28 million last year compared with 1.43 million in 2008.

Demand from the world's leading emerging markets helped to compensate for sharp falls in other key markets, notably the US and Europe.

While sales to China rose 38 per cent rise in 2009, sales in the US slumped by 20 per cent and by 9.4 per cent in BMW's domestic German market. group revenue in 2009 fell by 4.7 per cent to 50.6 billion euros.

However, BMW group sales have gained ground as the new year got underway, rising a year-on- year 14 per cent to 91,758 vehicles in February.

Group pre-tax profit in 2009 rose by 17.7 per cent to 413 million euros compared with 351 million euros in 2008, BMW said.