Frankfurt: The German luxury car maker BMW on Tuesday posted a 73.8-percent drop in third quarter net profit after being slammed by a collapse in the market for high-end vehicles.
A BMW statement said net profit plummeted to 78 million euros (USD 115 million dollars) from 298 million euros in the third quarter of 2008.
Analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast a slightly better figure of 94 million euros this time around.
Core earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) was also sharply lower, falling by 85.8 percent to 55 million euros in the three-month period, while sales edged lower to 11.76 billion euros from 12.6 billion.
That reflected "sales volume decreases caused by the weak state of the economy and the competitive environment," the statement said.
The company said it aimed for positive group earnings for the full year, following "some early signs of recovery, particularly in August and September."
Unit sales of BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brand autos was 7.2 percent lower at 324,100 in the third quarter, and 15.7 percent lower at 939,554 for the first nine months of the year.
Despite some signs of improvement however, "the BMW Group only expects the situation to stabilise at a low level during the last quarter of 2009," it said.
"For the time being at least, it cannot be assumed that an enduring recovery has taken hold."
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, November 03, 2009, 14:08