BMW AG has become the latest carmaker to cut its outlook, forecasting a “moderate” drop in pretax profit because of trade tensions and pricing pressure. Its shares fell the most in three months.
The luxury carmaker also expects its profit margin from carmaking to drop to 7 percent of sales, outside a targeted range of 8 percent to 10 percent, it said Tuesday in a statement. Previously, the manufacturer forecast a pretax profit level with last year’s.
“The continuing international trade conflicts are aggravating the market situation and feeding uncertainty,” BMW said in a statement. “These circumstances are distorting demand more than anticipated and leading to pricing pressure in several automotive markets.”
BMW dropped as much as 5.9 percent in Frankfurt, dragging down German rivals Daimler AG and Volkswagen AG. BMW was down 4.9 percent to 79.40 euros at 1:21 p.m. in Frankfurt.
