The BMW Group set new highs for sales and earnings in the first quarter of 2016. Group profit before tax increased by 4.4% to a record level of €2,368 million (2015: €2,269 million). Group net profit rose by 8.2% to €1.641 million (2015: €1.516 million), also setting a first quarter record. In the automotive segment, sales volume rose by 5.9% to a total of 557,605 vehicles (2015: 526,669 units) during the first three months of the year, another Q1 record.
“Our first-quarter performance is further proof of our ability to generate positive earnings with our core business, despite a volatile environment,” said Harald Krüger, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, today.
The BMW brand set a record at 478,743 units (2015: 451,576 units; +6.0%) during Q1. Help came from various areas, including the contributions made by the flagship 7 Series, and the BMW X crossovers. First-quarter deliveries of the BMW 7 Series were 20.3% ahead of the previous year. The 7 Series plug-in-hybrid and the M760Li xDrive will go on sale later this year, so BMW execs are optimistic.
As with all other automakers, crossovers continue to thrive. Sales of the BMW X1 in the three-month period increased by 67.6% year-on-year to 51,002 units. The X3 posted a 26.9% sales increase at 38,719 units. The BMW X6 was up 15.2% on the previous year (11,043 units).
Customers also took delivery of 5,128 electrically-powered BMW i vehicles worldwide during Q1. This means the total number sold since market launch at the end of 2013 is more than 50,000 EVs. An additional version of the BMW i3 with an electric range of up to 300 kilometers (NEDC) is expected to add to momentum when it goes on sale this summer.
Chairman of the Board of Management, Harald Krüger, joined BMW AG in 1992. Following completion of a mechanical engineering degree. He has been a board member since December 2008.
Mini recorded a new high for deliveries in Q1 as well. Worldwide sales were 5.4% higher at 78,311 (2015: 74,312 units). Momentum came from the new MINI Clubman, where more than 12,000 units were sold during the three-month period.
First-quarter sales of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars were hurt by “political and economic uncertainties,” in the Middle East. Preparations for the market launch of the Dawn also had a negative impact. In total, 551 units sold during Q1 (2015: 781 units; -29.4%). The new Rolls-Royce Dawn made its debut at the end of March. Orders are claimed to be intake is good and is expected to stimulate demand.
The positive trend for the BMW Group continued in Europe, where first-quarter sales of 257,120 units were up 9.5% on the previous year. Numerous markets in the region recorded sales volume growth, a double-digit scale in some countries, including Great Britain (+10.5%; 59,169 units), France (+10.7%; 20,816 units) and Italy (+11.5%; 19,951 units). [Don’t ask about Russia – editor]
First-quarter sales of BMW Group vehicles in Asia rose by 9.9% to 183,204 units, including 127,167 units sold on the Chinese mainland (+10.5%) and 18,703 units in Japan (+8.8%).
Deliveries to customers in the Americas region decreased by 8.7% to 100,245 units, including 81,601 units (-10.8%) sold in the United States.
Motorcycles
The number of BMW motorcycles sold to customers worldwide since the beginning of the year rose by 7.7% to 33,788 units, with the BMW R 1200 GS long-distance enduro and its sister model, the BMW R 1200 GS Adventure, remaining BMW Motorrad’s best-selling models. The Boxer GS also performed well, with 11,391 units sold worldwide during the three-month period. First-quarter revenues were 2.6% higher at €582 million (2015: €567 million) on the back of good sales volumes. EBIT amounted to € 94 million (2015: €115 million; -18.3%). Profit before tax finished at €94 million (2015: € 114 million; -17.5%).
Financial Services
In total, 413,372 (2015: 384,565) new contracts were signed for financing and leasing business in the first quarter, 7.5% more than in the previous year. The number of lease and financing contracts increased by 8.3% to a total of 4,786,441 contracts at the end of the reporting period (2015: 4,419,817 contracts). At €6,032 million, segment revenues were at a similar level to the previous year (2015: €6,058 million: -0.4%). Profit before tax improved by 2% to €570 million (2015: €559 million) from increased volumes.
Workforce
The size of the workforce increased by 4.4% compared with the end of the first quarter of the previous year. Overall, the BMW Group employed 122,692 people worldwide at the end of the reporting period (2015: 117,554). The BMW Group continues to recruit engineers and skilled workers in order to keep pace with the rising demand and develop new technologies.
BMW Reaffirms 2016 Targets
The BMW Group reaffirmed its full-year targets. “We forecast slight increases, and thus new record figures for sales volume in the Automotive segment and group profit before tax in 2016,” said Krüger. In 2016, the EBIT margin is forecast to remain within the targeted range of between 8 and 10%.
The BMW Group expects the Motorcycles segment to continue its upward trend in the current year. The new R NineT Scrambler and G 310 R models unveiled at trade fairs last autumn have given the product portfolio additional breadth and are attracting new customer groups. A slight year-on-year increase in sales volume is forecast for the full year.
The successful business performance of the Financial Services segment is expected to continue. Despite rising equity capital requirements worldwide, the BMW Group forecasts a return on equity (RoE) for the full financial year 2016 at a similar level to the previous year (2015: 20.2%), once again above the target rate of at least 18%.
