BMW, the world’s largest premium carmaker, has reported a first-quarter operating loss amid a decline in sales of luxury cars and have also refused to give a profit forecast for the full year.
The company said on Wednesday that it posted a loss before interest and taxes of 55 million euros ($73.7 million) and said it was still not possible to give a reliable earnings forecast for the year. In addition CEO Norbert Reithofer told reporters that there were no signs the market would recover until 2010.
He reaffirmed BMW’s return targets for its car business for 2012, by which time roughly half of its volume should have been replaced with the upcoming generations of its 1, 3 and 5 series model lines.
“BMW understandably says it cannot give guidance, but with its operating loss modest for Q1, we’d assume that the management quietly holds out hope of reporting a small operating profit for the year,” analyst Max Warburton of research company Bernstein wrote in a research note to clients.
“We remain concerned that BMW is not past the worst in volume terms. However, the company’s impressive cash management will likely moderate concerns even if the top line keeps deteriorating.”
Source: Automotive News Europe
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