German luxury car maker BMW fell into the red early this year, reporting a first quarter net loss of €152m. BMW had made a profit of €487m in the same period of 2008.
The group said it could not give an outlook for 2009 as a whole, except to say that sales would be lower than last year.
'In view of the difficult conditions still prevailing on the financial markets, we remain focused in our efforts to improve our liquidity position,' chief executive Norbert Reithofer said in a statement.
The group's core figures swung to a loss of €55m from a profit of €827m, as sales slumped by 13% to €11.5 billion. The results were, however, better than expected, as analysts had forecast a core loss of €275m and €10.5 billion in sales.
A total of 267,637 cars were sold in the first three months of the year, down from 405,595 in the first quarter of 2008, the statement said. BMW also sold 29,111 motorcycles, up from 28,589, it added.
In addition to the BMW brand, the group owns Mini and Rolls-Royce. BMW said it had trimmed costs during the first three months of the year and reduced inventories, in part through the elimination of more than 900 posts as many departing workers were not replaced.
BMW and its German rival Daimler, which makes Mercedes-Benz, have been hit hard by the global slump in car markets. Late last month, Daimler posted a first quarter net loss of €1.28 billion.
A German government car scrapping premium of €2,500 for turning in old cars for new ones has resulted in strong demand for smaller, cheaper cars, but left luxury brands on the sidelines.
