BERLIN (Reuters) – BMW reported on Friday an increase in the margin of its automobile division in the third quarter driven by sales of electric and more expensive cars, allowing the German manufacturer to confirm its annual targets.
BMW’s margin on earnings before interest and taxes stood at 9.8% during the quarter, 10.8% if we exclude the takeover of its Chinese joint venture BMW Brilliance Automotive (BBA) in 2022.
The group’s turnover increased by 3.4% to 38.5 billion euros, which exceeded the estimates of analysts surveyed by LSEG.
The group’s net profit, however, fell by 7.7% over the quarter, suffering from comparison with last year’s figures, under the effect of the consolidation of BBA, according to the group.
The automaker, which maintained a cautiously optimistic tone throughout the year and raised its auto margin outlook in August, did not mention the impact of high interest rates or inflation on growth , unlike other rivals such as Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, which have warned of a sluggish market environment that is holding back demand.
BMW, which warned in August that supply chain problems could persist throughout the year, said Friday they had eased.
Sales of fully electric vehicles represented 15.1% of total deliveries in the third quarter, exceeding the 15% target that BMW had set for the end of the year.
Free cash flow for the automotive segment since the start of the year amounted to 5.7 billion euros, which is close to the forecast of 6 billion for 2023.
(Reporting Victoria Waldersee; Diana Mandiá, editing by Kate Entringer)
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