German car manufacturer BMW has become more profitable in the past year thanks to price increases and a shift towards more expensive models.
While turnover climbed by 9% to €155.5 billion ($169 billion), thanks to increased sales, operating earnings before interest and taxes rose by almost a third to €18.5 billion, the group announced in Munich on Thursday.
The operating margin in automotive engineering, the company's most important division, rose by 1.2 percentage points to 9.8%. Analysts had expected an even better figure. The share price fluctuated significantly after the announcement, at one point falling by almost 3%.
On balance, BMW's net profit fell by around a third to €12.2 billion.
In the previous year, however, a billion-euro valuation effect resulting from the complete takeover of the Chinese joint venture BBA had inflated profits. This year, shareholders are to receive a dividend of €6 for each DAX-listed ordinary share. This is €2.50 less than in the previous year, but slightly more than had previously been estimated by experts.