BMW 2015 Annual Report Download - page 15

15 STATEMENT OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF MANAGEMENT
Dear Shareholders,
The 7 March 2016 marked an historic milestone in the history of our company. 100 years of Bayerische
Motoren Werke is the achievement of all the company’s associates since its founding in 1916 right up until
today. Our experiences and strengths establish the foundation for our future. However, we also know that
it
is not past accomplishments but profitable growth, strength in innovation and competitiveness that deter-
mine the success of a company. This is why we are using the occasion of our centenary as a springboard for
“The Next 100 Years”. This makes it clear that the company’s strategy is and remains geared towards the
long
term.
Successful development continued in the financial year 2015 The financial year 2015 was a successful
year for the BMW Group. We achieved new all-time highs for performance indicators such as sales, Group
revenues, Group profit before tax and net profit.
The strength of our premium brands is the backbone of our success Our three premium brands fascinate
people all around the world. In 2015, more than 2.2 million customers chose a BMW, MINI or Rolls-Royce,
more than in any other year. This was a solid increase of 6.1 per cent over the previous year. For the first time
in our
corporate history, the BMW brand sold more than 1.9 million vehicles. With almost 137,000 motor-
cycles and
scooters, BMW Motorrad also achieved a new record in sales. The MINI brand also reported the
best year ever, with over 338,400 vehicles sold. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars delivered 3,785 vehicles to customers,
making 2015 the second-best year in its 112-year history.
We continue to strive for a globally balanced distribution of value creation We continue to pursue a balanced
distribution of sales between the world’s three major regions, Europe, Asia and America. In view of the
heterogeneous and volatile development of the markets, our distribution strategy allows us to respond more
swiftly to fluctuations and to avoid overdependence on any single region. Europe is still our largest sales region.
Last year we surpassed the mark of one million vehicles sold there for the very first time. Overall, close to
45 per cent of our cars were delivered to customers in Europe. Asia accounted for approximately 30 per cent
of sales, the Americas for 22 per cent.
We are strategically expanding our global production network of currently 30 sites in 14 countries. Our
second engine plant in Shenyang opened in January 2016. In Mexico, preparations for the construction of our
new plant in San Luis Potosí are proceeding according to schedule. On top of that, we are currently expanding
the company’s largest production site in Spartanburg, USA in order to be able to meet the high demand
for
our premium sports activity vehicles.
Positive sales development reflected in key financials Our successful development in sales is reflected in
our key financials: with over 92 billion euros in sales revenues, the BMW Group posted a significant growth
of 14.6 per cent over the previous year. As forecasted, the Group profit before tax achieved solid growth of
5.9 per cent to a new high of 9.2 billion euros. The annual net profit increased by 10 per cent to around 6.4 billion
euros. The EBIT margin in the Automotive segment stands at 9.2 per cent and therefore remains within our
strategic target range.
With over 1.65 million new contracts with customers and a profit before tax of 1.98 billion euros, the
Financial Services segment once again made a significant contribution to the Group result. The EBT in the
segment grew significantly to 14.6 per cent and stands well above the previous year’s level.
The Motorcycle segment is profitable due to its successful growth strategy. Based on an operating result
of 182 million euros in 2015, the segment reported an EBIT margin of 9.1 per cent.
Therefore, we achieved the goals we set for the 2015 financial year and we managed to do so in an environ-
ment characterised by intense competition as well as economic and political volatility.