BMW 2006 net profit was on Thursday said to have jumped 28.4% to a record high, helped by higher sales, greater efficiency and a one-off gain.
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Shareholders will benefit from a higher dividend, news agency reports said.
The 2006 net profit rose to EUR2.87bn ($US3.76bn) from EUR2.24bn the previous year while profit before tax rose 25.5% to EUR4.12bn, close to most analysts predictions.
The automaker enjoyed a one-off EUR372m gain from the partial settlement of an exchangeable bond on shares in UK aerospace group Rolls-Royce Group.
BMW told Dow Jones Newswires that a combination of higher sales, better product mix and more efficiency measures helped counter adverse currency effects and rising materials costs.
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By GlobalDataThe news agency noted that the automaker had previously announced that overall revenue rose 5% to EUR49bn following a 3.5% increase in deliveries to 1.37m units.
Sales of its BMW and Rolls Royce brands both rose in the year, though Mini sales slipped after measures to increase capacity at its manufacturing facility and a model changeover.
“We are aiming for a new sales volume record in 2007. All three brands are expected to post new records,” said chief executive Norbert Reithofer in a statement cited by the news agency.
BMW said it would raise its dividend by 9.4% to EUR0.70 a share and added it intends to seek authority from shareholders to buy back a maximum of 10% of its shares over 18 months.
BMW said its financial services segment continued to improve earnings in 2006. Pre-tax profit there rose 13.2% to EUR685m, despite higher refinancing costs. Revenues rose 17.8% to EUR11,079m.
At the end of 2006, 2,270,528 lease and financing contracts were in place with dealers and retail customers, up 8.8%, and the proportion of new cars financed increased to 42.4% from 41.1%.
The company’s current buyback authorisation runs until November, though it added it has not yet decided whether or to what extent that authorisation will actually be used, Dow Jones added.
