The net profit of the German company Bayerische Motoren Werke – BMW (XETRA: BMWG), the world's largest manufacturer luxury class cars, increased by 4% in the first quarter of 2015, up to 1.516 billion euro, compared with 1.458 billion euro in January-March 2014, according to the company press release.
The profits without considering the interest rates and tax payments (EBIT) jumped by 21%, getting to 2.521 billion euro, from 2.09 billion euro a year earlier. This figure exceeded the expectations. The analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, on average, had expected the figure at 2.2 billion euro.
The revenue of the automaker increased 15%, getting to 20.9 billion euro. BMW sales in the first quarter rose 8.1% - up to 526.669 thousand cars.
The sales figures, the revenues and the EBIT for the first quarter reached a record high for this time of year.
The head of the BMW, Norbert Reithofer declared that the manufacturer made a good start in 2015.
The indicators of other German automakers, such as Volkswagen AG and Daimler AG (XETRA: DAIGn) also exceeded the expectations of experts who were probably influenced by the recent crisis effects when they considered their figures. The quarterly operating profits margin of the competing Mercedes-Benz Cars rose 9.2% from 7.0% percent a year earlier, while Audi has declined to 9.7% from 10.1%. The European companies benefit from the recovery of demand in the domestic car marker, as well as from the weakening euro against the US dollar, which increases their revenues from operations outside Europe.
BMW sales in Europe in the first quarter increased 9.6% - up to 234.849 thousand cars. In Germany, the rise was 3.4% in the UK - 15.1%. In Asia, the automaker's sales increased 5.1% - up to 166.678 thousand cars. In China it grew by 6.4%. In North and South America, BMW has sold 109.743 thousand cars in January-March, which is 9.9% higher than the previous year. The US sales jumped 12.6%.
BMW reiterated that it expects record sales and operating profits this year with the release of 15 new or upgraded models of Rolls-Royce (LONDON: RR), Mini and BMW. They expect to maintain the position as the world's largest manufacturer of luxury cars in 2015. However, BMW warned that the situation in some areas remains difficult, for example in Russia.