BMW Q2 net up sevenfold at 834 mn euro

German luxury car maker BMW AG today reported about 7-fold jump in net profit at 834 million euro ($1.1 billion) for the quarter ending June 30, 2010 on higher demand in China and improving sales in the US and Europe.

The company, which has a significant presence in India, had a net profit of 121 million euro during the April-June period of 2009, BMW said in a statement.

"Sharp sales volume growth in major markets and a high-value model mix are the main reasons for the strong second-quarter performance. We have also used the economic crisis as a source of opportunity and have improved efficiency significantly in all areas of the company", BMW Chairman Norbert Reithofer said.

BMW Group's revenues increased to 15.34 billion euro during the quarter under review from 12.97 billion euro in the year-ago period.

The company noted that number of vehicles sold during the period from April to June rose by 12.5 per cent to 380,412 units.

The BMW Group recorded sales volume growth in virtually all markets during the first half of the year with China, the Americas and Europe registering the highest growth rates.

Sales in Asia during January-June period climbed by 57.7 per cent to 128,845 units, with Chinese market continuing to grow dynamically, with the number of cars sold during the six -month period more than doubling to 75,615 units.

Besides, the demand has started picking up in the US and European markets, after the company was hard hit by the woes embroiling in the regions.

The company remained on a growth course in the US, with sales of BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brands rising in its largest international market during the period, by 6.4 per cent to 121,912 units, while in Europe, the number of cars sold rose by 4 per cent to 389,831 units.

For the full-year 2010, BMW said it expects that sales will grow by 10 per cent to more than 1.4 million units. It also aims to achieve an earnings before tax margin of over 5 per cent in the automobiles segment.

During the second quarter, BMW had a reduced its workforce by 2.8 per cent from year-ago period to 95,502 employees.