Another record year for BMW Group in 2014

«We continued to perform well during the past year, achieving new highs for sales volume, revenues and group earnings», stated Norbert Reithofer, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, on Thursday in Munich. «Tailwinds caused by high customer demand for our vehicles worldwide are driving up sales volumes. Our Strategy Number ONE, which we regularly refine as we go forward, continues to contribute to our business performance», continued Reithofer.

Group revenuesgrew by 5.7% in 2014 to € 80,401 million (2013: € 76,059 million).Profit before financial result(EBIT) rose by 14.3% to € 9,118 million (2013: € 7,978 million), thanks primarily to sales volume growth and a high-value model mix.Group profit before tax(EBT) increased by 10.3% to a new high level of € 8,707 million (2013: € 7,893 million).Net profitimproved by 9.2% to € 5,817 million (2013: € 5,329 million), also a new record high for the BMW Group.

Sales volumesurpassed the two-million mark for the first time in the BMW Group’s history, climbing by 7.9% to a total of 2,117,965 units (2013: 1,963,798 units).

The Board of Management and the Supervisory Board will propose to shareholders at the Annual General Meeting on 13 May 2015 that the dividend be increased to a new high of € 2.90 (2013: € 2.60) per share of common stock and € 2.92 (2013: € 2.62) per share of preferred stock, corresponding to a distribution ratio of 32.7% (2013: 32.0%).

«Our proposal to pay a record dividend clearly reflects our intention to include shareholders in the BMW Group’s successful performance. The distribution rate of approximately 33% is clearly within the BMW Group’s target range of 30 – 40%», commented Friedrich Eichiner, member of the Board of Management responsible for Finance.

Automotive segmentrevenuesgrew by 6.4% to € 75,173 million (2013: € 70,630 million) on the back of good sales volume figures and new models.EBITincreased by 8.9% to € 7,244 million (2013: € 6,649 million). TheEBIT marginimproved to 9.6% (2013: 9.4%) and was thus in the upper half of the segment’s targeted range of 8 – 10%.Segment profit before taxincreased by 5.0% to € 6,886 million (2013: € 6,561 million).

TheBMWbrand retained its leading position in the premium segment in 2014 by posting a new record sales volume figure. Sales climbed by 9.5% to 1,811,719 units (2013: 1,655,138 units), driven in particular by the excellent performances of the BMW 3, 4 and 5 Series and the BMW X5, each of which led the world market in its own segment.

TheBMW 2 Seriesrecorded a total sales volume of 41,038 units in 2014. Sales of theBMW 3 Seriesremained at a high level in 2014 with 480,214 units sold (2013: 500,332 units). The Convertible and Coupé models have been incorporated into the BMW 4 Series since the end of 2013, as a result of which, the previous year’s total was not quite achieved. TheBMW 4 Seriesperformed exceedingly well, with sales volume of 119,580 units (2013: 14,763 units). TheBMW 5 Seriesalso continued its success story, with sales increasing to 373,053 units (2013: 366,992 units; +1.7%). Sales of the highly popularBMW X5climbed steeply (by 37.4%) to 147,381 units (2013: 107,231 units).

BMW ivehicles are also on the road to success, recording a total sales volume of 17,793 units in the year under report. Worldwide sales of theBMW i3totalled 16,052 units, a large proportion of which arose during the second half of the year, following the model’s launch in various major markets, including the USA. TheBMW i8achieved sales of 1,741 units since its market launch in summer 2014.

With a sales volume of 302,183 units,MINImaintained sales at the previous year’s high level, despite the changeover of the brand’s core model to its third generation (2013: 305,030 units; -0.9%). Sales of theMINI Hatchsaw a 9.0% increase in sales on the previous year at 140,051 units (2013: 128,498 units). The number ofMINI Countrymansold increased year-on-year by 5.0% to 106,995 units (2013: 101,897 units).

Rolls-Royce Motor Carsconsolidated its position as market leader in the ultra-luxury segment in 2014, surpassing the 4,000-unit sales volume threshold for the first time. Overall, the number of vehicles sold during the year rose by 11.9% to 4,063 units (2013: 3,630 units), including 1,906 units (2013: 492 units) of the Wraith, launched in autumn 2013.

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

Within a more stable market environment, sales inEuropeincreased year-on-year by 6.4% to a total of 914,587 units (2013: 859,546 units). Sales volume was 5.1% higher in Germany at 272,345 units (2013: 259,219 units) and 8.4% higher in Great Britain at 205,071 units (2013: 189,121 units). Markets inAsiacontinued to develop dynamically in 2014. The BMW Group sold 658,384 units (2013: 578,678 units) in this region, 13.8% more than the previous year. Sales on the Chinese mainland grew by 16.6% to 456,732 units (2013: 391,713 units). The BMW Group also increased sales volume in theAmericasregion, with the number of vehicles sold increasing 4.0% to 482,257 units (2013: 463,822 units), including 396,961 units (2013: 376,636 units) sold in the USA (+5.4%).

Motorcycles segmentrevenuesgrew 11.6% year-on year to € 1,679 million (2013: € 1,504 million).EBITjumped by 41.8% to € 112 million (2013: € 79 million), whileprofit before taxadvanced by 40.8% to € 107 million (2013: € 76 million).Sales volumeincreased by 7.2% to 123,495 units (2013: 115,215 units), thus outperforming the market as a whole. BMW Motorrad’s five largest markets were Germany, the USA, France, Italy and Brazil.

The Financial Services segment continued to perform well in 2014.Segment revenueswere 3.6% higher at € 20,599 million (2013: € 19,874 million), whileprofit before taxincreased by 6.4% to € 1,723 million (2013: € 1,619 million).

In total, 1,509,113 (2013: 1,471,385)new contractswere signed in conjunction with financing and leasing business, 2.6% more than in 2013. Theportfolio of lease and financing contractsin place with dealers and retail customers at 31 December 2014 rose by 5.6% to a total of 4,359,572 contracts (2013: 4,130,002 contracts).

Theworkforceincreased by 5.4% compared to the previous year. Overall, the BMW Group had a worldwide workforce of 116,324 employees at the end of the reporting period (2013: 110,351 employees). The increase mainly reflected the need for engineers and skilled workers in order to keep pace with rising demand for vehicles on the one hand and to forge ahead with innovations and develop new technologies on the other.

The BMW Group has expanded its apprenticeship activities worldwide. During the past year, approximately 1,500young peoplebegan an apprenticeship within the organisation, including youngsters in Germany. At the end of the reporting period, 4,595 young people worldwide were in vocational training and training programmes for young talent within the BMW Group.

In view of its attractive model range and the market launch of 15 new models or model revisions over the course of 2015, the BMW Group forecasts an increase in sales volume worldwide. «We are targeting further sales volume growth worldwide in the current year and hence a new record level for deliveries,» stated Reithofer.