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BMW Group heading towards a successful year in 2008.
The BMW Group intends to continue its successful business performance in the current year. “We are aiming towards a current year profit before tax -adjusted for the exceptional gain on the settlement of exchangeable bond on shares in the British aero engine manufacturer, Rolls-Royce, in 2007 - that is higher than in the previous year”, said Norbert Reithofer, the Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG at the BMW Group Annual Accounts Press Conference in Munich on Tuesday.
The BMW Group plans to achieve new record sales volume figures for all three brands in 2008 and hence to retain its position as the world’s leading premium manufacturer. “The BMW Group expects another record number of deliveries in 2008. We remain well on course to achieving our strategic sales volume target of 1.8 million vehicles in 2012”, continued Reithofer.
The BMW Group again faces some major challenges in the current year as a result of the strong euro, a weaker US economy and continuing high raw mate-rial prices. It is also likely to be confronted in the future by stricter emission standards in many countries. The BMW Group has invested several hundred millions of euros in environment-friendly technologies in recent years, enabling and providing the BMW Group a competitive edge over its competitors. Our EfficientDynamics programme offers customers the best technology that is currently available on the market to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emis-sions. In 2007, some 450,000 vehicles were sold in Europe alone equipped with EfficientDynamics. This figure is expected to rise in 2008 over 830,000 vehicles.
BMW Group achieves all of its targets in 2007.
The BMW Group achieved all of the targets that it had set itself for the financial year 2007 by posting new record sales volume and revenue figures and an adjusted profit before tax higher than one year earlier. Profit before tax, at euro 3,873 million (2006: euro 4,124 million), was 6.1% down on the record level achieved in the previous year. Adjusted for the exceptional impact of the set-tlement of the exchangeable bond on shares in the British engine manufac-turer, Rolls-Royce plc, the profit before tax, as previously announced, was 0.6% higher than one year earlier. The exceptional gain on the conversion of the remaining options in 2007, at euro 97 million, was significantly lower than the previous year’s gain of euro 372 million. Group EBIT rose by 4.0% to euro 4,212 million (2006: euro 4,050 million).
As a result of the one-time effect of the corporate tax reform in Germany, the net profit also rose by 9.0% to a new all-time high level of euro 3,134 million (2006: euro 2,874 million). The net profit therefore surpassed the three billion euro figure for the first time. Group revenues climbed by 14.3% to euro 56,018 million (2006: euro 48,999 million) on the back of sharp rise in sales volume and thanks to the dynamic growth of financial services business. This means that revenues were able to break through the euro 50 billion barrier for the first time. Operating cash flow rose to 6,340 (2006: 5,373) million euros, resulting in an increase of 18%.
Shareholders to participate significantly more in success of business.
The Board of Management and the Supervisory Board will propose at the An-nual General Meeting to be held on 8 May 2008 that the dividend per share of common stock be increased by 51.4% to euro 1.06 (2006: euro 0.70) and that the dividend per share of preferred stock be increased by 50.0% to euro 1.08 (2006: euro 0.72). “We also want our shareholders to be able to participate significantly more in the success of the BMW Group in the future”, explained Reithofer.
New authorisation for share buy-back proposed.
The Board of Management and the Supervisory Board of BMW AG will pro-pose a resolution at the Annual General Meeting to authorise the buy-back of up to 10% of the Company’s share capital. The authorisation, if resolved, will be valid for a period of 18 months. The buy-back authorisation passed in the previous year remains valid until 14 November 2008. It has not yet been de-cided whether or the extent to which the new authorisation will be applied to buy back further shares.
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