BMW profit jumps 16 pct in Q3 thanks to strong Asian sales

"The BMW Group continued to perform successfully during the period under report despite difficult market conditions," the carmaker said in a statement. Revenues during the three-month period from July to September rose by 13.7 percent to 18.8 billion euros.

During the period from January to September, profit after tax totalled 3.9 billion euros. The total number of BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brand vehicles delivered to customers up to the end of September climbed by 8.3 percent to a new high of 1,335,502 units. Sales of its 1 Series, X1, 5 Series and 6 Series models were particularly strong, Xinhua informs.

"We have had a good third quarter, setting new sales volume, revenues and earnings records in the face of a challenging market environment," Chief Executive Norbert Reithofer said.

BMW's remarkable performance has been attributed to strong demand in North America and Asia, especially China, as sales in Europe marked a small increase of 0.8 percent in the first nine months this year.

However, sales in China during the nine-month period surged by 33.3 percent to 237,650 units. In Japan, the number of cars sold rose by 21.5 percent to 42,038 units. Sales in North America also rose by 7.4 percent to 264,207 units.

Unlike its competitors who face slack demand and capacity cut, BMW focuses on luxury end of the market, which is less affected by recession and yields higher profit. The Munich-based company reportedly plans to increase sales in China by more than 10 percent next year.

However, despite what CEO Norbert Reithofer called a "good third quarter", BMW has started to feel the pinch of the recession.

"Like the rest of the sector, we are now beginning to feel some headwind," Reithofer said, adding that the company and the auto sector as a whole "are likely to be confronted with adverse business conditions" in the fourth quarter.

But BMW still aims to achieve an earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margin between 8.0 and 10.0 percent in 2012.

"We are on course to achieve new record figures for sales volume and pre-tax earnings in 2012", stated Reithofer.