Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, the world’s biggest maker of luxury vehicles, posted its second consecutive quarterly loss as the global recession trampled demand for upscale sedans and sport-utility vehicles.
The first-quarter net loss was 152 million euros (US$202 million), or US$0.23 a share, compared with profit of 487 million euros, or US$0.74, a year earlier, Munich-based BMW said yester day in an e-mailed statement.
The deficit was narrower than the median 268 million euro estimate of four analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
BMW lost 963 million euros in the last three months of last year, its first deficit since at least 2001.
TRIMMING
The company is trimming spending and eliminating jobs as the global recession plunges the auto industry into its worst crisis in decades. Industry-wide car sales in the US, BMW’s largest market, fell 34 percent in April, the 18th monthly decline in a row.
The manufacturer, which also makes Mini and Rolls-Royce models, curtailed production by 78,000 vehicles this year after reducing hours for 26,000 workers at plants in the German towns of Regensburg and Dingolfing.
About 8,000 employees returned to normal hours at Regensburg this month, where BMW assembles the 3-Series sedan and Z4 roadster.
The company began cooperating on parts purchases in March with Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz division, which ranks second to BMW in making luxury cars, and said at the time more “major” joint projects are possible as a way of cutting costs.
FORECASTS
BMW reiterated its forecasts that sales would drop this year.
The company, which also makes motorcycles, said it can’t make a reliable earnings prediction because of questions about the depth of the recession.
BMW said on April 7 that its first- quarter deliveries declined 21 percent.
Moody’s Investors Service cut BMW’s long-term debt rating on April 3 by one level to A3, the fourth-lowest investment grade.
The credit-reporting company kept the carmaker on watch for another potential downgrade, citing a “severe and rapid downturn in demand for BMW’s vehicles.”
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS