FRANKFURT (Reuters) - BMW's full-year operating profit fell 7.9 percent to 9.12 billion euros (7.8 billion pounds), beating analyst expectations thanks to cost and efficiency measures, even as the German carmaker warned on Friday about a difficult year ahead.
Chief Executive Harald Krueger said, "The challenges facing the entire sector are unlikely to diminish in the coming months. Great efforts will therefore be needed across the entire Group to help shape the sector's transformation under such conditions."
The earnings before interest and taxes were higher than the 8.94 billion euros anticipated in a poll.
The carmaker said its return on sales for the automotive division fell to 7.2 percent compared with 9.2 percent a year earlier, as investments into electric cars and difficulties getting cars certified to new emissions tests weighed on profit.
(Reporting by Edward Taylor; editing by Thomas Seythal)