|
| BMW net profit plunges 74%, cautious on outlook |
| Press Trust of India / Frankfurt Nov 03, 2009, 15:28 IST |
|
German luxury car maker BMW today joined compatriot Daimler in posting dismal third quarter figures and warned there was no guarantee a recovery is underway, though strong growth was seen in China.
BMW said net profit plunged by 73.8 per cent from the third quarter of 2008 to 78 million euros or $115 million.
In the first nine months of the year, net profit lost a massive 96.4 per cent from the same period a year earlier to 47 million euros, the group said.
The news sent BMW shares into a wall in early Frankfurt trading.
Analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast third quarter profit of 94 million euros, and the results underscored the global downturn's effect on manufacturers of high-end automobiles.
Small car makers have done better owing to government car scrapping schemes and other fiscal incentives, and BMW's poor figures stood in contrast to those from groups such as Fiat and Ford.
Daimler on the other hand, which makes Mercedes-Benz autos, was also hit by a slump in the luxury car market, and reported last week a 74 per cent drop in third quarter net profit to 56 million euros.
Despite signs of improvement, particularly in China which is now the group's largest Asian market, "the BMW Group only expects the situation to stabilise at a low level during the last quarter of 2009," it said in a statement.
BMW forecast that full-year unit sales would be between 10-15 per cent lower than in 2008.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Read Business news in |  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Advertisements |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Content Guide
