Luxury carmaker BMW today reported a 76 per cent decline in second-quarter profit as the recession sapped demand for higher-priced sedans and sport-utility vehicles.
The company posted earnings before tax and interest (EBIT) of €114 million but said markets were too volatile to make a full-year forecast.
Net income fell to €119 million from €506 million a year earlier, Munich-based BMW said today in a statement.
Sales dropped 11 per cent to €12.97 billion. The automobile division, BMWs biggest unit, reported a pretax loss of €158 million versus a year-earlier profit.
Germany’s government-rebate program to encourage trade-ins of cars older than nine years has not helped BMW as buyers using the incentive choose cheaper models made by competitors such as Volkswagen AG.
BMW chief executive Norbert Reithofer said a lasting and wide-ranging recovery in the luxury car market is not yet in sight.
In a statement accompanying its results, the carmaker said it could not give a forecast for 2009 earnings "due to the highly volatile state of the markets and uncertainty with regard to future economic developments."
However, it said it saw the downward trend of deliveries to customers seen in the first six months ending.