FRANKFURT (AP) -- Automaker BMW AG posted a large loss for 1999 due to the costs of selling its Rover units but its pretax earnings rose modestly as analysts had expected.
The automaker lost $2.4 billion for 1999 including restructuring costs of $3 billion, related to the sale of Rover's unprofitable passenger car division. Pretax profit, excluding one time charges and gains, rose 4.7 percent to $1 billion."We must recognize that our Rover products were not as successful as we had hoped," chief executive Joachim Milberg said Tuesday in announcing 1999 results at a Munich news conference. "Excluding our losses at Rover, the BMW brands had a successful year."
BMW agreed two weeks ago to sell its MG and Rover passenger car division to British investment group Alchemy Partners Ltd. for undisclosed terms and its Land Rover division to Ford Motor Co. for $2.9 billion.