BMW net profit up 54%
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG reported a 54 per cent jump in its 2001 net profit on Monday and said it expected key figures to keep climbing this year, a good sign given the gloomy outlooks for car makers.
The German luxury-car maker said its net profit for 2001 rose to .1.87 billion ($3.14 billion), from .1.21 billion a year ago.
BMW reported under international accounting standards for the first time.
"The year 2001 was by far the most successful in the corporate history of the BMW Group," the Bavarian car maker said after a supervisory board meeting.
The rise translated into earnings per common share of .2.78, up from .1.80 in 2000. Earnings per preferred share were .2.80, compared with .1.82 a year ago.
BMW didn't explain the huge increase in its bottom line, which was in line with market expectations, but said 2001 was the first full year of implementing its strategy of selling only premium vehicles in all segments.
Analysts had forecast such an increase because of car sales, which rose 10 per cent to 905,653 units last year, and the absence of loss-making UK car maker Rover Group PLC, which still weighed on BMW's earnings for part of 2000. BMW sold Rover and Land Rover in 2000.
BMW said pre-tax profit surged 60 per cent to .3.24 billion in 2001, from .2.03 billion a year ago. Sales rose 3.3 per cent to .38.46 billion, from .37.23 billion.
BMW's return on sales was 8.4 per cent, compared with 5.5 per cent in 2000, well over that of most of its rivals. BMW is one of the world's most profitable car makers in terms of ROS, and second only to Porsche.
The firm's motorbike unit, which accounts for 3 per cent of revenues, saw its profitability rocket by nearly 79 per cent.
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You know, somebody actually complimented me on my driving today. They left a little note on the windscreen. It said, 'Parking Fine.'So that was nice.
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