BMW eyes new sales record
November 5, 2013
Munich based German carmaker BMW appeared confident of meeting full-year targets when presenting its third-quarter earnings report on Tuesday.
It said business had developed favorably in the three months to September, leaving the company with a 3.2-percent increase in net profit, amounting to 1.33 billion euros ($1.8 billion).
Underlying profit fell by 3.7 percent, though, with BMW attributing the drop to "increased personnel costs and growing competition." On top of that, the car maker continued to make heavy investments into new technologies such as those employed in its i3 electric vehicle.
Overseas sales in focus
"Figures for both the third quarter and the nine-month period have developed positively despite a higher level of expenditure on new technologies and a challenging market environment in Europe, CEO Norbert Reithofer said in a statement.
"We have recorded best-ever worldwide sales figures to date," he said, adding that the company was continuing to target sales volume growth "in the single-digit percentage range and hence a new sales record."
The company stated growth forecasts applied to its three brands BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce.
hg/rc (Reuters, AFP, dpa)