BMW Group achieves record earnings in 2015

BMW Group achieves record earnings in 2015

The BMW Group achieved its sixth record-breaking year in succession in 2015, posting new highs to date for sales volumes, revenues and profit before tax, despite a volatile market environment.

Automobile sales volume climbed by 6.1% to a new record level of 2,247,485 units (2014: 2,117,965 units).

With additional tailwind from favourable currency factors, Group revenues grew by 14.6% in 2015 to € 92,175 million (2014: € 80,401 million). Profit before financial result (EBIT) increased by 5.2% to € 9,593 million (2014: € 9,118 million), mainly on the back of sales volume growth. Group profit before tax (EBT) rose for the first time above € 9 billion, increasing by 5.9% to a new high level of € 9,224 million (2014: € 8,707 million). Group net profit rose for the first time above € 6 billion, increasing by 10.0% to a new record level of € 6,396 million (2014: € 5,817 million).

Automotive segment revenues grew by 13.8% year-on-year to € 85,536 million (2014: € 75,173 million), mainly reflecting the good sales volume performance, new models and favourable currency factors. EBIT increased by 8.2% to € 7,836 million (2014: € 7,244 million). The EBIT margin came in at 9.2% (2014: 9.6%) and was thus in the upper half of the targeted range of 8 -10%. Segment profit before tax (EBT) improved by 9.3% to a new high of € 7,523 million (2014: € 6,886 million).

The BMW brand maintained its top position in the premium segment in 2015 by posting a new record sales volume figure. Deliveries to customers were 5.2% higher at 1,905,234 units (2014: 1,811,719 units), with excellent performances by the BMW 2 Series, the BMW 4 Series and the BMW X family helping to drive sales volume growth. Additional momentum is expected in the current year, in particular from the new BMW 7 Series and the new BMW X1.

The BMW 2 Series proved exceptionally popular in 2015, with deliveries to customers reaching a total of 157,144 units (2014: 41,038 units), including more than 107,000 units of the BMW 2 Series Active and Gran Tourer, which therefore accounted for more than two thirds of the total figure for the series. The BMW 4 Series performed equally well, consolidating its position as market leader in its segment with a 27.4% sales volume increase to 152,390 units (2014: 119,580 units). The brand’s growth is also being driven by the success of the BMW X family. Sales of the BMW X4 more than doubled to 55,050 units (2014: 21,688 units). Worldwide sales of the BMW X5, also the market leader in its segment, grew by 14.1% to 168,143 units (2014: 147,381 units), while the BMW X6 recorded a 53.1% increase to 46,305 units (2014: 30,244 units).

The number of BMW i vehicles delivered to customers jumped by 65.9% to 29,513 units (2014: 17,793 units), comprising 24,057 units (2014: 16,052 units) of the BMW i3 (+49.9%) and 5,456 units (2014: 1,741 units) of the BMW i8.

MINI achieved a new sales volume record in 2015, with deliveries up 12.0% to 338,466 units (2014: 302,183 units). Worldwide sales of the new MINI 5-Door totalled 94,788 units (2014: 13,113 units), while sales of the MINI 3-Door edged up to 127,194 units (2014: 126,938 units; +0.2%). The new MINI Clubman went on sale in October and registered sales of 8,003 units by the end of the year.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars recorded the second-best performance in its
112-year history. The Goodwood-based company sold 3,785 units worldwide in 2015 (-6.8%), with the Wraith and Ghost models making the largest contributions to the sales volume figure. Demand for the brand remained high around the world, the only notable exception being China, where the luxury segment as a whole felt stiff headwinds.

In line with its strategy of achieving a balanced distribution of worldwide sales, the BMW Group recorded sales volume growth in all major sales regions. The four largest sales markets for the BMW Group over the past year were China, the USA, Germany and Great Britain.

Sales of BMW Group vehicles in Europe in 2015 exceeded the one-million mark for the first time, with a total of 1,000,427 units (2014: 914,587 units; +9.4%) handed over to customers. Sales volume was 5.0% higher in Germany at 286,098 units (2014: 272,345 units) and 12.6% higher in Great Britain at 230,982 units (2014: 205,071 units).

The pace of growth in Asia slowed in 2015 as a result of the continuing normalisation of the Chinese market. The BMW Group sold 685,792 units (2014: 658,384 units) in this region, 4.2% more than the previous year, including sales on the Chinese mainland, which grew by 1.6% to 464,086 units (2014: 456,732 units).

The BMW Group also increased sales volume in the Americas region, with the number of vehicles sold up 2.8% to 495,897 units (2014: 482,257 units), including 405,715 units (2014: 396,961 units) sold in the USA (+2.2%).

Motorcycles segment revenues grew 18.5% year-on-year to € 1,990 million (2014: € 1,679 million). EBIT improved by 62.5% to € 182 million (2014: € 112 million), while profit before tax advanced by 67.3% to € 179 million (2014: € 107 million). Sales volume increased by 10.9% to 136,963 units (2014: 123,495 units), thus outperforming the market as a whole. BMW Motorrad’s five largest markets were Germany, the USA, France, Italy and Spain.

Source: BMW