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BMW in overdrive

May 6, 2014

German premium carmaker BMW has been able to raise its earnings significantly in the first three months of 2014. The company said the positive results were achieved despite higher technology costs.

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Image: picture alliance/AP Photo

High-end auto maker BMW said Tuesday it fared extremely well in the first quarter of 2014. "BMW has made a strong start to the current financial year with record first-quarter figures for sales volume and profit before tax," the company said in a statement.

In the first three months of the year, BMW's net profit rose by 11.4 percent compared with the same period a year earlier. Bottom-line earnings totaled almost 1.5 billion euros ($2 billion).

Operating profit was up 2.6 percent in the first quarter, with unit sales advancing by 8.7 percent to roughly 487,000 worldwide.

Upbeat outlook

"Within a challenging market environment, sales volume and pre-tax profit are both expected to rise to new record levels throughout 2014," the Munich-based auto maker said.

BMW Chief Executive Norbert Reithofer warned that the pace of earnings growth would be tempered by high levels of expenditure for new technologies, fierce competition, and rising personnel expenses.

German carmakers target Chinese market

Reithofer said he was pleased that the company's strong first-quarter results were so strong despite a significant rise in costs for introducing new models to the market.

hg / nz (Reuters, AFP, dpa)