BMW Motorrad has joined the roster of motorcycle manufacturers successfully fighting back against Covid-19’s economic assault earlier in the year, according to its nine-month and third-quarter results. BDN financial editor Roger Willis reports.
On a January-September basis, revenue was only 8.3% down to £1.545bn. Global retail sales volume had recovered to just 5.4% behind the equivalent period in 2019, reaching a tally of 129,599 motorcycles and maxiscooters.
Nevertheless, the pandemic’s impact on earnings across these nine months remained substantial. Associated operating profit plunged by 51.3% to £99m, with a 6.4% operating margin declining from 12.1%. Net profit attributable to the Motorrad sector halved to £68.4m.
But a sharp turnaround was visible in Q3. Quarterly retail bike sales had blossomed, 20.9% up to 52,892, and revenue rose by 14.2% to £573.5m. Operating profit stacked on 28.6% to £40.5m and operating margin increased to 7.1% from 6.3%. Net profit climbed by 50% to £27m.
While BMW will hope that pace of recovery is maintained through Q4, it is still forecasting a “moderate decrease” against the 175,162 bikes sold in the full 12 months of last year.