BMW Group achieves a strong 2014 third quarter

The BMW Group continued to perform well in both the third quarter and the first nine months of 2014, posting growth in its sales volume, revenues and group earnings figures and underlining its leading position worldwide in the premium segment.

Group revenues increased in the third quarter by 4.5% on the back of higher sales volume to € 19,600 million compared with one year earlier (2013: € 18,751 million). Profit before financial result (EBIT) rose by 17.1% to € 2,256 million (2013: € 1,926 million) thanks to a higher-value model mix. Group profit before tax (EBT) rose by 1.2% to € 2,013 million (2013: € 1,989 million). All three figures constituted new highs to date for a third quarter. Group net profit was slightly lower than the previous year at € 1,314 million (2013: € 1,330 million/-1.2%) due to the higher income tax expense. The operating margin (EBIT) for the Group was 11.5% (2013: 10.3%).

The total number of BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brand vehicles delivered to customers worldwide increased year-on-year by 5.8% during the period from July to September to a new record of 509,669 units (2013: 481,657 units).

Nine-month revenues grew by 3.4% to € 57,740 million (2013: € 55,849 million). EBIT increased by 15.2% to € 6,949 million (2013: € 6,030 million) and profit before tax by 13.5% to € 6,839 million (2013: € 6,024 million). These figures also marked new all-time highs for a first nine-month period. Group net profit improved by 12.7% to € 4,547 million (2013: € 4,034 million). The number of vehicles sold in the first nine months increased by 6.5% to a new record figure of 1,529,880 units (2013: 1,436,178 units). The operating margin (EBIT) for the period from January to September came in at 12.0% (2013: 10.8%).

“We continued to perform well in both the third quarter and over nine-month period within an increasingly challenging environment”, commented Norbert Reithofer, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, on Tuesday in Munich.

Automotive segment: third-quarter EBIT rises to approx. € 1.70 billion 

The BMW Group sold more BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brand vehicles in the reporting period than ever before in its history. Revenues of the Automotive segment rose in the period from July to September by 5.5% to € 18,142 million (2013: € 17,197 million). EBIT improved by 9.7% to € 1,697 million (2013: € 1,547 million), which corresponded to an EBIT margin of 9.4% (2013: 9.0%).Segment profit before tax amounted to € 1,430 million (2013: € 1,631 million).

Segment revenues for the nine-month period grew by 3.7% to € 53,205 million (2013: € 51,305 million). EBIT increased by 11.4% to € 5,438 million (2013: € 4,882 million), while segment profit before tax rose by 11.0% to € 5,323 million (2013: € 4,795 million), resulting in an EBIT margin of 10.2% (2013: 9.5%).

The BMW brand held on to its pole position in the premium segment throughout the period under report by posting new record sales volume figures. Sales climbed by 6.9% to 433,145 units (2013: 405,350 units) in the third quarter and by 9.1% to 1,319,492 (2013: 1,209,598 units) over the nine-month period. Good contributions to this performance were made by the BMW 3, 4, 5 Series and the X5, each of which head the world market in its own segment.

Sales of the BMW 3 Series in the period from January to September were slightly lower than one year earlier at 353,078 units (2013: 365,772 units/-3.5%). It should be noted that the Coupé and Convertible variants are now included as part of the BMW 4 Series. The BMW 4 Series has proved highly popular since its market launch in autumn 2013, with a total of 81,876 units delivered to customers in the period from January to September. The BMW 5 Series also continues to sell well, with nine-month sales up by 2.8% to 278,479 units (2013: 270,902 units).

The various models of the BMW X family also continue to enjoy a high degree of popularity. Sales of the BMW X1 edged up in the first nine months of the year by 0.2% to 116,722 units (2013: 116,451 units), while those of the BMW X3 increased by 1.8% to a total of 116,015 units (2013: 113,945 units). Since its market launch in summer, sales volume of the BMW X4 has already reached 7,199 units. Sales of the BMW X5 jumped by 34.2% to 104,997 units (2013: 78,244 units).

Sales of the BMW i3 since the beginning of the year surpassed the 10,000 mark in September. In total, 10,199 units of this innovative electric vehicle were sold during the nine-month period. Following the market launch in the USA and Japan in the second quarter, the BMW i3 has also been available in China since October. 341 units of the BMW i8, launched in June, had been delivered to customers by the end of September.

The number of MINI brand vehicles sold in the third quarter edged up by 0.2% to 75,633 units (2013: 75,482 units). Sales of the core model, the MINI Hatch, in the three-month period rose by 12.4% to 36,452 units (2013: 32,436 units). In line with expectations, sales of the MINI brand in the first nine months of the year were lower at 207,529 units (2013: 224,280 units/-7.5%) owing to the change of the brand’s core model. Over the full year, however, MINI sales are likely to be back to the high level reported for the previous year. One of a number of models expected to generate tailwind in this period is the new MINI 5-door, which made its first appearance in the European showrooms at the end of October.

In the ultra-luxury segment, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars increased worldwide sales by 8.0% to 891 units (2013: 825 units) in the third quarter and by 24.3% to 2,859 units (2013: 2,300 units) in the nine-month period.

In line with its strategy of achieving an even-balanced distribution of worldwide sales, the BMW Group recorded sales volume growth in all major sales regions in the period from January to September.

In Europe, the number of vehicles sold increased by 3.4% to a total of 663,407 units (2013: 641,537 units). Sales volume in Germany grew by 3.2% to 198,083 units (2013: 191,889 units) and in Great Britain by 2.5% to 150,626 units (2013: 146,913 units).

Since the beginning of the year, the BMW Group has sold a total of 482,718 units (2013: 422,777 units) in Asia, surpassing the previous year’s nine-month figure by 14.2%. Sales on the Chinese mainland in this period grew by 17.8% to 336,499 units (2013: 285,630 units).

The BMW Group also increased sales volume in the Americas region during the first nine months of the year, with the number of vehicles sold 3.7% higher at 337,852 units (2013: 325,677 units). Sales volume in the USA grew by 5.2% and reached 276,491 units (2013: 262,745 units) for the nine-month period.

Sharp increase in earnings for the Motorcycles segment

Motorcycles segment revenues in the third quarter grew by 14.2% to € 370 million (2013: € 324 million). EBIT improved sharply to € 27 million (2013: negative EBIT of € 4 million), while profit before tax jumped to € 26 million (2013: loss before tax of € 5 million). Third-quarter sales volumeclimbed by 3.6% to 29,239 units (2013: 28,213 units).

Nine-month segment revenues advanced by 10.9% to € 1,370 million (2013: € 1,235 million). EBITjumped by 57.0% to € 146 million (2013: € 93 million) and profit before tax by 58.9% to € 143 million (2013: € 90 million). Sales volume increased by 7.6% to 100,217 units (2013: 93,154 units), the first time that BMW Motorrad has exceeded the 100,000 mark in the first nine months of a year.

Financial Services segment remains on growth course

The Financial Services segment also continued to perform well throughout the third quarter 2014. Segment revenues were 4.5% higher at € 5,221 million (2013: € 4,994 million). Profit before taximproved by 14.3% to € 455 million (2013: € 398 million).

Nine-month revenues grew by 2.6% to € 15,266 million (2013: € 14,882 million). Profit before taxwas 4.5% higher at € 1,373 million (2013: € 1,314 million).

A total of 1,111,700 new contracts (2013: 1,104,527 contracts) were signed in the period from January to September in conjunction with financing and leasing business. The portfolio of lease and financing contracts in place with dealers and retail customers at 30 September 2014 rose by 5.2% to a total of 4,260,436 contracts (2013: 4,048,821 contracts).

Workforce size increased

The number of employees at 30 September 2014 increased by 4.3% compared with one year earlier. Overall, the BMW Group had a worldwide workforce of 114,587 employees at the end of the reporting period (30 September 2013: 109,871 employees). The increase was attributable to the growing need for engineers and skilled workers in order to keep pace with rising demand for vehicles on the one hand and to forge ahead with innovations and to develop new technologies on the other. More than 1,500 apprentices – including 1,200 in Germany – began their careers with the BMW Group at the start of the new training year.

BMW Group reaffirms earnings targets for the full year

Based on its strong performance in the first nine months of 2014, the BMW Group is aiming to achieve new records in terms of sales volume (2013: 1,963,798 units) and Group profit before tax(2013: € 7,913 million): “We remain on course to achieve a significant increase in Group profit before tax for the full year and to deliver more than two million vehicles during the twelve-month period”, stated Reithofer.

In the current year alone, the BMW Group is launching 16 new models and various model revisions.

The Automotive segment continues to strive in 2014 to achieve an EBIT margin within a corridor of 8 to 10% (2013: 9.4%). However, depending on economic and political developments, actual margins could end up being above or below the targeted range. A solid increase in revenues from automobile business is expected for the full year (2013: € 70,629 million).

The Motorcycles segment is also expected to continue to perform well over the year as a whole. Despite difficult conditions on international motorcycle markets, sales are forecast to show a solid increase over the previous year (2013: 115,215 units).

The Financial Services segment is also expected to remain on growth course in 2014. As a consequence of related investments, the return on equity is likely to decrease slightly (2013: 20.2%), but still surpass the BMW Group’s minimum required level of 18%.

Expenditure on new technologies will remain high throughout the remainder of the year. One important factor driving this trend is the need to develop new technologies aimed at bringing down CO2 emissions even further in the face of increasingly stringent regulatory requirements. In addition to these issues, the global economy is also susceptible to a number of risks. The BMW Group’s forecasts for the current year are based on the assumption that political and economic conditions remain stable in 2014.

* Prior year’s figures partially adjusted due to application of IFRS 10 and IFRS 11.

1  figures exclude dormant employment contracts, employees in the work and non-work phases of pre-retirement part-time working arrangements and low wage earners

2  earnings per share of common stock/preferred stock

* Prior year’s figures partially adjusted due to application of IFRS 10 and IFRS 11.

1  figures exclude dormant employment contracts, employees in the work and non-work phases of pre-retirement part-time working arrangements and low wage earners

2  earnings per share of common stock/preferred stock