Pedal to the metal at BMW as earnings rise 14pc to £6.5bn
German car maker BMW yesterday announced that last year’s profit accelerated 14 per cent as its X5 SUV and 2-series Active Tourer compact minivan propelled record sales.
Earnings rose to €9.12bn (£6.5bn) from €7.98bn. This beat the €8.89bn average of 25 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Profit widened to 9.6 per cent of revenue from 9.4 per cent in 2013.
Full-year net income increased 9.2 per cent to €5.82bn.
“Tailwinds caused by high customer demand for our vehicles worldwide are driving up sales volumes,” said chief executive Norbert Reithofer. BMW is battling its main German rivals Audi and Mercedes-Benz, which intend to take the top spot in global premium-auto sales from it by the end of the decade.