By David Sachs

BMW is expecting pricing and electric vehicles to help drive growth in the second half of the year, though supply-chain issues should continue to be a headwind, the German premium car maker said Thursday.

"We expect the positive business trend to continue in the second half of the year, particularly due to the ongoing strength of the order bank and an expected improvement in the availability of vehicles," Chief Financial Officer Walter Mertl said.

In the second quarter, BMW reported sales of 37.22 billion euros ($40.71 billion), up from EUR34.77 billion in the same period a year earlier. Net profit attributable to shareholders declined slightly to EUR2.81 billion from EUR2.84 billion.

Strong pricing and electric vehicles, which more than doubled to around 133,900 in the first half of the year compared with the same period in 2022, drove growth, the company said.

BMW raised its outlook for the year earlier this week. As reported, it now expects an operating margin in the auto division of between 9% to 10.5%, up from a previous forecast of 8%-10%. The company also said it now expect solid growth in deliveries, compared with a previous forecast for slight growth.

The company said global auto markets are likely to grow this year despite a subdued outlook for the economy, and that it will focus on pricing in the coming half.

"While we are seeing the first signs of normalization on the market, we remain focused on price discipline," Mertl said.

Write to David Sachs at david.sachs@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 03, 2023 07:06 ET (11:06 GMT)

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