BMW Group Remains On Course For Sustained Success

August 3, 2017 by BMW

Munich. After another strong performance in the first half of 2017, the BMW Group remains fully committed to implementing its Strategy NUMBER ONE > NEXT with the ultimate aim of shaping the mobility of the future and the transformation of the automobile sector. As the world's leading provider of premium mobility, the BMW Group always focuses on the needs and desires of its customers and is continuing its ground-breaking work on the four ACES topics (Autonomous, Connected, Electrified und Services/Shared).

The Group's primary focus is on expanding electric mobility and automated driving. The BMW iNEXT will set new standards in both of these fields and will act as a technological spearhead. It will be manufactured at Plant Dingolfing from 2021, underlining the significance of Germany for future technologies and as a centre of competence for electric mobility. Germany will also serve as a key location for the development of autonomous driving. As part of the co-operation arrangements established with Intel and Mobileye, the first engineers from all three companies will move to the new development campus in Unterschleißheim near Munich in the course of the current year. Moreover, one year since the co-operation began, a number of other prestigious partners including Delphi and Continental have also joined the project.

'Huge changes lie ahead in the world of mobility and it is vital that our company is in top shape to tackle them. Strategy NUMBER ONE > NEXT sharpens our innovative edge and strengthens our core business,' commented Harald Krüger, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG. 'We are advancing rapidly in the field of electric mobility, today and into the future. No established competitor has been able to put as many electrified vehicles onto the roads as we have. In the future, our flexible architecture will enable us to decide quickly which and how many models to build with combustion, plug-in hybrid or all-electric drive systems. This flexibility in our product range is our key to success in times of volatility and uncertain forecasts.'

A successful core business, geared to generating long-term profitability, remains the backbone of the BMW Group, providing the underlying strength to determine the shape of mobility going forward. The BMW Group recorded growth in the second quarter 2017 in terms of volumes, revenues and earnings. This performance was boosted by the new BMW 5 Series, the launch of which in early 2017 marked the start of the largest model offensive in the BMW Group's history. Forty new and updated models of the Group's three premium brands, BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce, will be brought to market during the current and the following year.

'Our customers are excited by the new 5 Series model. Since its market launch and throughout the second quarter it continues to achieve considerable market success. We are confident that the BMW Group, with its three premium brands, will set a new record for deliveries to customers in 2017 and remain the foremost provider of premium mobility,' said Krüger. 'Together with the success of our products, our strategy of focusing on profitable growth in the USA is also paying dividends.'

The model offensive also extends the upper-premium segment. Through the targeted addition of vehicles with great emotive appeal – such as the new BMW 8 Series – the BMW Group aims to achieve significant volume growth in this segment by 2020. The segment also includes the BMW 7 Series and the future BMW X7. In addition, the BMW Group is raising the bar in terms of profitability in order to ensure its long-term business success.

'Sustained profitability is and remains an integral part of our Strategy NUMBER ONE > NEXT, ensuring we have the necessary resources to take on the challenge of shaping the future of mobility,' stated Nicolas Peter, member of the BMW AG Board of Management responsible for Finance. 'This is why we are focusing on the needs of our customers and the relevant technologies of tomorrow. Using our corporate values as the starting point, we ensure our structures enable future-oriented, cooperative ways of working, while setting clear priorities for the allocation of our resources. We are deliberately reducing the degree of complexity in our products and processes. We always act with foresight, a steady hand and from a position of strength, as we never lose sight of the long-term strategy and sustained success of the BMW Group as a whole. This combination of constancy and dependability is the hallmark of the BMW Group and will remain so in the future.'

The BMW Group's broad range of electrified vehicles was particularly popular during the first six months of the current year. Deliveries of BMW i3 and i8 models, the BMW iPerformance plug-in hybrids and the new plug-in hybrid version of the MINI Countryman totalled 42,573 units, some 80% up on the previous year (2016: 23,681 units). 'We remain firmly on track to deliver more than 100,000 electrified vehicles for the first time in a single year,' Krüger stated.

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Since the market launch of the BMW i3 four years ago, the BMW Group is a pioneering force in the world of electric mobility and clearly remains on this course. Including the first MINI brand plug-in hybrid model, the BMW Group now offers nine electrified vehicles, with the new BMW i8 Roadster set to further increase that number in 2018. Shortly afterwards, all-electric, battery-powered e-mobility will become an integral part of the BMW Group's core brands, starting with the production of an all-electric, battery-powered MINI at the Group's plant in Oxford at the end of 2019 and followed by the all-electric, battery-powered BMW X3 in 2020.

BMW Group achieves volume, revenue and earnings growth

Deliveries of BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brand vehicles in the second quarter 2017 rose by 4.6% to 633,582 units (2016: 605,534 units). Group revenues between April and June went up by 3.1% to € 25,799 million (2016: € 25,014 million). Profit before financial result (EBIT) amounted to € 2,929 million, 7.5% up on the previous year's figure (€ 2,725 million). Profit before tax (EBT) grew to € 3,055 million (2016: € 2,798 million; +9.2%), resulting in an EBT margin for the Group of 11.8% (2016: 11.2%). Net profit rose by 13.6% to € 2,214 million (2016: € 1,949 million).

Deliveries in the first half of the year increased by 5.0% to 1,220,819 units (2016: 1,163,139 units). Group revenues grew by 7.4% to € 49,247 million (2016: € 45,867 million). Profit before financial result (EBIT) climbed by 7.6% to € 5,575 million (2016: € 5,182 million). Profit before tax (EBT) for the six-month period amounted to € 6,060 million (2016: € 5,166 million), 17.3% up on the previous year, boosted in part by a positive valuation effect recorded in the first quarter. The EBT margin for the six-month period came in at 12.3% (2016: 11.3%). Group net profit jumped by 21.5% to € 4,363 million (2016: € 3,590 million).

Automotive segment: EBIT margin within target range

At € 22,976 million, second-quarter Automotive segment revenues were at a similarly high level to the previous year (€ 22,872 million; +0.5%). EBIT increased by 2.8% to € 2,238 million (2016: € 2,178 million), causing the Automotive segment's EBIT margin to improve to 9.7% (2016: 9.5%), which lies within the unchanged target range of between 8 and 10%. Profit before tax climbed by 4.7% to € 2,385 million (2016: € 2,277 million).

Automotive segment revenues for the six-month period grew by 4.8% to € 43,668 million (2016: € 41,686 million). EBIT improved by 4.3% to € 4,109 million (2016: € 3,941 million), while the segment EBIT margin came in at 9.4% (2016: 9.5%). Profit before tax increased by 16.3% to € 4,664 million (2016: € 4,011 million).

Deliveries of BMW brand vehicles worldwide totalled 1,038,030 units (2016: 986,557; +5.2%), surpassing the one-million mark for the first time during a first half-year period. Volume growth was driven by a variety of models including the BMW Group's flagship BMW 7 Series, and the BMW X-family models. More than 32,000 units of the BMW 7 Series were sold during the period under report, 26.9% up on the previous year. Deliveries of the BMW X1 in the first half of the year jumped by 45.2% to nearly 137,000 units. The BMW X5 (nearly 90,000 units; +10.6%) also recorded significant growth. Even in the months directly affected by the model change, the new BMW 5 Series was able to maintain its previous year's high level, with deliveries to customers during the six-month period exceeding 166,000 units (-1.8%). The growing availability of the 5 Series is expected to provide additional momentum during the remainder of the year.

Deliveries of 181,214 units in the period from January to June 2017 also represented a new record for the MINI brand (2016: 174,898 units; +3.6%) in the first half of a year. Six-month deliveries of the MINI Clubman totalled 29,867 units (2016: 27,511 units; +8.6%), while the new MINI Convertible saw volume growth of 30.3% to 18,699 units (2016: 14,354 units).

The Rolls-Royce brand, based in Goodwood, England, delivered 1,575 units to customers during the first half of 2017 (-6.5%). The corresponding six-month period in 2016 had benefited greatly from the launch of the highly popular Rolls-Royce Dawn leading to particularly high sales. This basis effect and the break in availability of the Phantom ahead of the launch of the next generation of that model were the main reasons for the year-on-year volume decrease. Despite ongoing and perceptible uncertainties in the luxury sector in a number of regions, Rolls-Royce continues to target long-term, sustainable growth.

In line with its strategy of achieving a well-balanced distribution of sales worldwide, the BMW Group uses its highly flexible production, sales and marketing structures to even out fluctuating demand between individual regions.

In Europe, the BMW Group recorded volume growth of 2.2%, delivering 555,206 units in the first half of the year (2016: 543,270 units), despite the recent headwinds affecting a number of key markets.

Demand in Asia grew significantly during the six-month period under report and the number of vehicles delivered increased to 415,888 units (2016: 361,568 units; +15.0%), mostly due to the Group's strong performance in China. Deliveries of BMW Group vehicles on that market grew by 18.5% to 293,572 units (2016: 247,817 units), mainly driven by the full availability of the BMW X1 and the popularity of the new BMW 1 Series Sedan, designed exclusively for the Chinese market.

Volume performance in the Americas region continued to be held down by the contracting automobile market in the USA, with deliveries in the six-month period falling by 2.5% to 217,530 units (2016: 223,098 units). By contrast, double-digit percentage increases were reported in the number of vehicles delivered to customers in Mexico and Latin America during the period from January to June.

Motorcycles segment records highest delivery volume figure to date

The Motorcycles segment performed extremely well in the second quarter. Deliveries to customers in the period from April to June rose by 12.3% to a new all-time high of 52,753 units (2016: 46,966 units). Revenues grew by 12.8% to € 696 million (2016: € 617 million). Profit before financial result rose by 6.1% to € 104 million (2016: € 98 million), giving an EBIT margin of 14.9% for the quarter (2016: 15.9%). Profit before tax increased by 6.2% to € 103 million (2016: € 97 million).

During the first six months of the year, a total of 88,389 BMW motorcycles and maxi-scooters were delivered to customers (2016: 80,754 units; +9.5%). Revenues grew by 10.0% to € 1,319 million (2016: € 1,199 million). Profit before financial result increased by 19.3% to € 229 million (2016: € 192 million), resulting in an EBIT margin of 17.4% for the six-month period under report (2016: 16.0%). Profit before tax improved by 19.4% to € 228 million (2016: € 191 million).

Financial Services segment remains on successful course

The Financial Services segment also continued to perform well during the second quarter. In total, 468,603 new credit financing and leasing contracts (2016: 460,718 contracts: +1.7%) were signed with customers between April and June. Including contracts with dealerships, a total of 5,307,296 leasing and credit financing contracts were in place as of 30 June 2017 (31 December 2016: 5,114,906 contracts; +3.8%). Segment revenues in the second quarter rose by 8.3% to € 7,044 million (2016: € 6,505 million). Profit before tax improved by 17.1% to € 589 million (2016: € 503 million).

In total, 934,237 (2016: 874,090) new contracts were signed in the first half of 2017 in conjunction with our financing and leasing business, up 6.9% on the previous year. Six-month segment revenues grew by 12.4% to € 14,090 million (2016: € 12,537 million). Profit before tax increased by 10.3% to € 1,184 million (2016: € 1,073 million).

Workforce numbers increased

The size of the Group's workforce grew by 3.3% year-on-year to stand at 127,680 employees as of 30 June (2016: 123,597). Skilled workers and IT specialists in future-oriented areas, such as digitalisation and automated driving, continue to be recruited.

Outlook for 2017: BMW Group forecasts new record figures

The BMW Group is confident of achieving its projected targets for the current financial year – largely thanks to its strong brands, its attractive product portfolio and the expectation that international automobile markets will continue their generally upward trend. These favourable factors are offset by high levels of upfront expenditure for new technologies, intense competition and rising personnel expenses. The global political and economic environment is expected to remain volatile.

'We forecast slight increases, and hence new record figures, for automotive segment deliveries and profit before tax in 2017,' stated Krüger. 'With the first half-year now behind us, we are confident of achieving the targets set for the full year. We can therefore begin the second half of the year with cautious optimism. That said, we also continue to expect higher expenditure over the course of the year in connection with key technological and strategic projects on the one hand and the roll-out of the largest model offensive in the history of the BMW Group on the other. Other factors to bear in mind are the politically volatile environment and high upfront expenditure for electric mobility and autonomous driving.'

The EBIT margin for the Automotive segment in 2017 is forecast to remain within the targeted range of between 8 and 10 per cent. With its premium brands, the BMW Group is confident it will remain the world's leading provider of premium mobility in 2017. Due to positive translation effects, the BMW Group now forecasts a solid increase in automotive segment revenues for the full year.

Forecasts for the current year are based on the assumption that worldwide political and economic conditions will not change significantly.