[ad_1]
BMW raised its profit forecast for 2021 after strong quarterly results, but warned that the global semiconductor shortage and rising commodity prices would impact its performance in the second half of the year.
Net profit for the second quarter was 4.8 billion euros ($ 5.7 billion), compared to a loss of 212 million euros for the same quarter in 2020. The company’s automotive segment had a EBIT margin of 15.8%, about double the automaker’s annual forecast of 7 percent to 9 percent.
Profits were boosted by higher sales volume and good prices, the automaker said in a statement Tuesday.
BMW said it now expects a full-year operating margin for the automotive segment in a range of 7% to 9%, up from its previous forecast of a range. from 6% to 8%.
The automaker has warned of tense months as the global chip shortage will continue to weigh on vehicle production.
“Our performance benefited from strong customer demand during the first half of the year, which enabled us to achieve significant growth,†CEO Oliver Zipse said in the statement.
“However, in light of a number of current risks, including commodity prices and a semiconductor shortage, the second half of the year is likely to be more volatile for the BMW Group,” he said.
CFO Nicolas Peter said BMW was able to overcome the challenges of the chip shortage through “hard work,” but added that “the longer the supply bottlenecks last, the more the situation is likely to become tense “.
“We expect production restrictions to continue in the second half of the year and therefore a corresponding impact on sales volumes,” he said.
BMW has so far been relatively less affected by the global chip shortage than some of its auto industry peers, which has been attributed to its strong relationships with its supplier base.
German rivals Volkswagen and Daimler have both warned that the chip shortage will hurt their second-half results, and Daimler has said the crisis could last until 2022.
BMW’s second-quarter results also received a billion dollar boost after the automaker had to set aside less money than originally planned for expected European antitrust fines for alleged collusion with rivals.
In May, BMW said the revised amount would lead to an increase of about a percentage point in its auto margin forecast.
The company agreed to pay a fine of 373 million euros last month after an EU investigation into collusion that regulators say has hampered the deployment of emissions cleaning technology. BMW had set aside a total of 1.4 billion euros.
Bloomberg contributed to this report
[ad_2]
