BMW 2003 Annual Report Download - page 14

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each share of preferred stock (2002: euro 0.54).
Share capital entitled to receive dividends amounts to
euro673.5 million (622.2 million shares of common
stock and 51.3 million shares of preferred stock, each
with a nominal value of euro 1).
Revenues lower as a result of exchange rate
changes
The weakness of the US dollar against the euro
affected the level of revenues reported by the BMW
Group for 2003. As a consequence of the impact
of exchange rate changes, Group revenues fell by
2.1% to euro 41,525 million. Adjusted for changes
in exchange rates, the Group achieved sales revenue
growth of 4.2%.
Revenues of the Automobiles segment sur-
passed the previous year’s level due to volume
growth and, at euro 38,317 million, were 0.4% higher
than in the previous year.
By contrast, revenues of the Motorcycles seg-
ment fell by 6.6% to euro 1,055 million, mainly as a
result of exchange rate changes.
Revenues of the Financial Services segment
fell by 9.1% to euro 7,582 million in 2003. In addition
to the effects of exchange rate changes, this was
attributable to the lower volume of end-of-contract
business and the lower level of interest rates com-
pared to the previous year.
Important milestones reached
The range of vehicles offered by the BMW Group
was expanded significantly in 2003. Throughout the
history of the Group, there have never been as many
new models presented in one year as in 2003. After
the launch of the Rolls-Royce Phantom in January,
the same month also saw the introduction of the
BMW 760i/Li, the new top model of the BMW
7Series. This was followed by the revised versions
of the BMW 3 Series Cabrio, Coupé and Compact
models in February, all of which became available for
sale in March. Sales of the BMW 730i/Li worldwide
and of the BMW Z4 in Europe also began in March.
The high-performance model, BMW M3 CSL, came
onto the market in May.The MINI One D was launched
in June, thus adding a diesel version to the range of
MINI brand cars available.
The model change of the BMW 5 Series Limou-
sine was completed in July with the market introduc-
tion of the BMW 530d, BMW 520i and BMW 530i.
This was followed in the autumn by the BMW 525i
and the BMW 545i, the latter now being the series’
top performance model.
The revised BMW X5 model was introduced
in October. The BMW X3 and the BMW 6 Series
Coupé celebrated their premiere at the International
Motor Show in Frankfurt/Main in September. Fol-
lowing the presentation of these cars to the media in
October and November 2003 respectively, the new
models were launched on the market in January
2004 and have been well received.
Automobile markets in 2003
In 2003, economic conditions prevailing on some
of the world’s automobile markets were difficult. At
the beginning of 2003, the global economy was still
experiencing low growth rates. Although the situation
picked up during the course of the year, the overall
growth rate for the full year was still only modest.
Compared to other countries, the USA enjoyed
above-average growth in 2003. Japan surprised
with better than expected growth.The growth rate in
the United Kingdom also clearly accelerated from the
second quarter. By contrast, the economic perform-
ance of the euro currency region was once again on
the weak side. Although a modest revival could be
observed during the second half of the year, this did
not prove to be as strong as expected. The German
gross domestic product fell marginally in 2003.
The worldwide demand for cars of all manufac-
turers rose slightly in 2003 and was 2% above the
level for the previous year. Individual markets, how-
ever, again developed very inconsistently.
The automobile market in the USA in 2003
declined again slightly and the number of registra-
Following the adoption of International Accounting
Standards (IASs) for the Group Financial Statements
at 31 December 2001, the BMW Group has, in
2003, harmonised its internal and external reporting
systems. This gives rise to several reclassifications
in the income statement for 2002, which do not,
however, have any impact on the profit from ordinary
activities or net profit for that year. A detailed analy-
sis of the adjustments is shown in the notes to the
Group Financial Statements on pages 69 to 71.
Further information is also available on the Internet
at www.bmwgroup.com/ir.