The German premium automotive manufacturer said it remains on course towards achieving its targets for the full year and all its manufacturing plants have resumed working in regular shifts since mid-June.
During the first half of 2020, the BMW Group delivered 962,575 (-23%) BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce premium brand vehicles worldwide; the BMW brand sold 842,153 units (‑21.7%), the MINI brand 118,862 units (-31.1%) and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars 1,560 units (-37.6%). Group revenues fell to €43,225 million (‑10.3%). Profit before financial result (EBIT) for the six-month period amounted to €709 million (-74.6%) and profit before tax (EBT) fell to €498 million (-82.3%), resulting in an EBT margin of 1.2% (2019: 5.8%). Group net profit amounted to €362 million (‑82.5%). The Group said it remains committed to its plans despite the “highly challenging market environment” and that it will continue to invest in future-oriented technology fields and develop its expertise. The automotive Group intends to invest more than €30 billion in research and development up to 2025, with the aim of extending its leading edge in terms of innovation.
“We are investing carefully and with a sense of proportion. In light of the current situation, we are either postponing or closely scrutinising our projects. As announced, we have also systematically reduced inventory levels during the second quarter with the aim of safeguarding free cash flow”, said Nicolas Peter, Member of the Board of Management, BMW AG, Finance. “Our Performance Programme is making a significant earnings contribution. Over the past three years or so, this programme has laid the groundwork for key improvements, which we are now benefiting from and which enable us to drive forward the necessary changes.”
The Group’s second strategic focus is on sustainability and, for the first time across the entire life cycle of its products, from the supply chain to production and through to a vehicle’s end-of-life phase, the BMW Group has set itself clear targets for reducing its CO2 emissions up to the year 2030. Over this entire period, CO2 emissions per vehicle are to be reduced significantly by at least one third by 2030 compared with 2019 levels. By the end of 2021, the carmaker will be offering five all-electric, series-produced automobiles in the form of the BMW i3, the MINI Cooper SE, the BMW iX3, the BMW iNEXT and the BMW i4. The next generation of the BMW 7 Series is expected to mark a further important milestone.
BMW Group said automotive deliveries in 2020 are likely to be significantly lower than a year earlier, and that it expects the segment EBIT margin to lie within a range between 0 and 3% in 2020.
Reference:
BMW “cautiously optimistic” for second half of year – International Leather Maker. (n.d.). Retrieved August 07, 2020, from https://internationalleathermaker.com/news/fullstory.php/aid/8773/BMW__93cautiously_optimistic_94_for_second_half_of_year.html
