Aug. 14, 2006 – Finance Digest
BMW profit up, names new CEO
BMW AG net income for the second quarter ended June 30 was Euro 787 million ($1 billion), or Euro 1.20 ($1.53) per share, up 17.5 percent from net income of Euro 670 million, or 90 Euro cents per share, for the same three-month period in 2005.
The Munich-based company said sales rose by 8 percent to Euro 13.19 billion ($16.8 billion) from Euro 12.16 billion.
The company sold 365,547 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brand cars from April to June — an increase of 3.2 percent from the same time last year.
Second-quarter motorcycle sales totaled 37,052 units, a 3 percent rise from a year earlier. However, for the first six months, overall sales were down 2.1 percent.
In related news, Helmut Panke plans to step down as chairman and chief executive officer of Munich-based BMW AG. His in-house successor, Norbert Reithofer, will take over the leadership position Sept. 1.
Panke, 59, has been with the BMW Group for 24 years. He has been a member of the board of management since 1996 and chairman of the board of management since May 2002.
Reithofer, 50, joined BMW in 1987. He currently is a member of the board of management with responsibility for production. He has been a member of the board since 2000 and, prior to that, held various offices, including those of head of the Rosslyn plant in South Africa and head of the Spartanburg plant in the United States.
KTM sales, profits surge
Austria’s KTM Power Sports AG said net income for the period from Sept.1, 2005 to May 31, 2006 was Euro 11.6 million ($14.8 million), up 76 percent from net income of Euro 6.6 million during the same nine-month period in the prior year. KTM’s fiscal year ends Aug. 31.
Sales during the first three quarters of the fiscal year totaled Euro 350.5 million , up 42 percent compared to sales of Euro 247 million in the prior year period.
KTM officials said results came from higher productivity, beneficial currency exchange rates, lower production costs and a better product mix.
KTM expects to close the year with a double-digit sales increase. The company had worldwide sales of approximately $531 million in 2005, up from $490 million in 2004.
In KTM related news, Cross Industries AG, a 50 percent shareholder in KTM Power Sports AG, has acquired 25.59 percent of Pankl Racing Systems AG, an Austrian firm that specializes in chassis components and engine and drivetrain systems for racing and aerospace applications.
Cross Industries purchased the share from Pankl Chairman and CEO Ernst Wustinger. Cross’ two largest shareholders are Stefan Pierer and Rudolf Knuenz. Pierer and Knuenz joined the Pankl board of directors on June 6.