BMW says third-quarter cash flow in auto segment was above expectations

BMW on Monday said rebounding markets helped the German automaker to deliver higher-than-expected free cash flow in the automotive segment in the third quarter.

Free cash flow totaled to 3.07 billion euros ($3.61 billion) in the third quarter, increasing from 714 million euros ($840.16 million) in the year-earlier period, the automaker said on Monday.

“This was due in particular to a faster recovery in several markets, which led to higher sales growth,” BMW said in a preliminary earnings release which was posted ahead of the automaker’s scheduled quarterly earnings on Nov. 4.

An optimization of working capital and a decrease of fixed costs and capital expenditure had helped to bolster earnings, but earnings forecasts for the individual sectors and the multi-brand automaking group remain unchanged.

“Economic disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic continues to significantly impair forecasting and leads therefore to considerable uncertainty in providing an accurate outlook,” BMW added.