BMW AG reported its weakest profitability since 2010, capping a negative year for Chief Executive Officer Harald Krueger after the brand lost the industry sales crown to arch-rival Mercedes-Benz.
Amid higher spending on next-generation technologies, BMW’s automotive profit margin fell to 8.9 percent in 2016 from 9.2 percent a year ago, according to a statement on Thursday. Groupwide earnings before interest and taxes dropped to $9.92 billion (9.39 billion euros), missing the average analyst estimate of 9.82 billion euros, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The shares fell as much as 4.2 percent, the most in four months.
