Luxury automaker BMW saw its net profit leap 78 percent in the third quarter, driven higher by increased sales, and raised its sales outlook for the rest of 2007 on Tuesday. The Munich-based automaker earned €803 million ($1.2 billion) in the July-September period compared with €452 million a year earlier and beating the €605 million (US$876.5 million) that analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast.Sales at BMW, which also makes the popular Mini, the expensive Rolls-Royce and motorcycles, climbed 19 percent to €13.78 billion ($19.96 billion).
Despite some market worries about the company's exposure to the falling U.S. dollar, BMW said it was "well on its way toward achieving its earnings and sales volume targets for the full year."
"The BMW Group will focus its attention on profitability and increasing value over the long term," said Chief Executive Norbert Reithofer.
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