The carmaker BMW made a record profit of 18.6 billion euros last year. That was almost half more than in the previous year, as the group announced today in Munich. Sales increased by 28 percent to 142.6 billion euros. Consolidated earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose by 4.5 percent to 14 billion euros.

Last year, the group acquired a majority stake in the Chinese joint venture BMW Brilliance Automotive (BBA) - the revaluation of the previously held BBA shares alone contributed 7.7 billion euros or around a third of the pre-tax profit of 23.5 billion euros .

Due to a lack of semiconductors and a lack of wiring harnesses from Ukraine, BMW only sold 2.4 million cars in 2022 - around 100,000 fewer than in the previous year. But the carmaker benefited from a high proportion of expensive models, higher prices for new cars and for lease returns on the used car market and a weak euro.

The dividend is to increase to EUR 8.50 per share, meaning that almost a third of the profit will continue to be distributed to shareholders. The target corridor for the payout ratio is 30 to 40 percent of net income.