German luxury carmaker BMW said fourth-quarter operating profit at its core automotive division fell 12 per cent due to increased spending on fuel-efficient technology, but raised its dividend to 2.60 euros a share. The worlds largest premium carmaker said on Thursday that the segments earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) dropped to 6.66 billion euros ($9.26 billion) due to the expenditure for new technologies and the cost of launching new products. BMWs automotive EBIT margin, the best gauge to benchmark profitability with peers, was 9.4 per cent in the quarter, compared with 10.6 per cent in the year-earlier period. That was still higher than the 8 per cent quarterly return on sales achieved by rival Daimlers Mercedes-Benz Cars division. For 2013, BMW proposed a dividend of 2.60 euros a share for common stock, up from 2.50 euros in 2012, and 2.62 euros a share for preferred stock.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 11:16:46 +0000
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