Half-yearly and second-quarter financial performances by BMW Motorrad were lukewarm, with progressively stagnating sales and falling earnings, reports financial editor Roger Willis.
Although retail sales volume in the first half of 2016 grew modestly by 3% to 80,754 motorcycles and maxi-scooters, revenue for the period was only a marginal 0.8% up at £1.01bn. Operating profit fell by 15.4% to £161.3m and pre-tax profit was 15.5% down to £160.5m.
During the second quarter of this period, volume was actually negative, posting a 0.2% drop to 46,966 units. Revenue also fell, 0.8% down to £518.5m. Operating profit declined by 12.5% to £82.3m and pre-tax profit sank by 13.4% to £81.5m.
An exaggerated earnings retreat was attributed to investment in a number of new strategic projects. And the company says volume is expected to improve during the remaining half of 2016 thanks to its attractive and young model range, delivering a full-year retail sales increase which was previously forecast as “slight” but has now acquired a “solid” tag.