BMW's Korean unit suffers huge operating loss in 2008

SEOUL, April 14 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean unit of German luxury carmaker BMW
AG suffered an operating loss of about US$40 million last year, hit by higher
marketing costs and currency-related losses, according to its regulatory filing
Tuesday.
BMW's Korean unit saw its operating loss, or earnings before interest and taxes,
snowball to 53 billion won ($39.9 million) last year, compared with a loss of 4.2
billion won a year earlier, the filing showed.
In 2008, the South Korean won nearly halved against the euro, making European
cars more expensive here. A weak won also means BMW gets back less when it
converts profits from sales in South Korea into the euro.
Despite the dismal figures, annual sales by BMW's Korean unit climbed six percent
to 489.8 billion won last year.
BMW sold a total of 8,396 vehicles in South Korea in 2008, up 10.2 percent from a
year ago.
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