BMW said today it would strive to match last year's profits in 2003 as it grapples with high development costs, but stopped short of giving a precise forecast, citing uncertainty over Iraq.
"Considering the tense geopolitical situation, it is difficult to make a specific forecast for the development of business throughout 2003 as a whole," BMW Chief Executive Helmut Panke told the group's annual news conference.
"Nevertheless, the BMW Group seeks once again to achieve the same overall result this year as in 2002," he said, noting that spending on new products would remain high this year.
BMW has never brought so many new cars to market in such rapid succession, and most investors expect the company's profit to be down in the first half of the year as development and launch costs continue to weigh.
Relief that the company was nonetheless aiming for flat results over the year as a whole boosted its stock by close to four per cent by early this morning, outperforming a broadly flat DJ Stoxx European autos index.
"Launch costs are going to be high and keeping earnings constant under these circumstances is quite an achievement," Sal Oppenheim autos analyst Mr Michael Raab said. "It tells you something about the earnings power of the company."
The consensus forecast among 19 analysts polled by Multex Global Estimates is for pre-tax profit to rise by around six percent to €3.5 billion ($3.72 billion) in 2003, with net profit up just under five percent at €2.115 billion.