The world's leading luxury car maker, BMW, has reported a huge leap in third-quarter net profits.
BMW said its net profit leapt 11-fold from the equivalent figure last year to €874m, as it stood by its sales target for this year and profitability targets for 2012. Analysts had forecast net profits of €791m. Sales rose by 35.6% to €15.9 billion, again exceeding the €14.3 billion expected by analysts.
Like many premium car makers, BMW suffered a heavy slump in 2009, though it still managed to post profits.
BMW said it still planned to sell more than 1.4 million vehicles this year, and was aiming for a profit margin of between 8% and 10% for its core activities in 2012.
It also forecast 'a significant increase in group pre-tax earnings for the full year 2010', but did not provide a detailed figure.
