By MarketWatch
BMW August unit sales up 12.5%
(5:31 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- German car maker BMW /quotes/comstock/11e!fbmw (DE:BMW 45.25, +0.36, +0.80%) said it delivered 103,239 automobiles worldwide in August, representing a 12.5% increase from a year earlier as sales in China grew rapidly. The company said sales of BMW brand vehicles rose 16.3% to 88,0007, more than offsetting a 6.7% fall in Mini sales to 14,986. Mini sales had been expected to fall because a new range of models is being introduced from mid September. "Asia -- and China in particular -- was the most powerful force driving our sales growth once again in August," said Ian Robertson, the management board member responsible for sales and marketing. Total BMW and Mini sales in China so far this year are more than 106,000 -- more than the car maker sold in the country for the whole of 2009.
Morrison profit down 7.5%, comparable sales rise
(2:42 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Morrison Supermarkets /quotes/comstock/23s!a:mrw (UK:MRW 290.80, -1.70, -0.58%) said Thursday that its fiscal first-half net profit slipped 7.5% to 286 million pounds ($442.8 million) as revenue rose 9.1% to 8.14 billion pounds. Excluding a one-off gain a year earlier, the group said underlying pretax profit was up 14% at 410 million pounds, broadly matching expectations, as it also lifted its interim dividend by 14% to 1.23 pence a share. Comparable sales in the period were up 0.9%. "Our first half performance has been solid, in a tight market. At a time when value is a priority for everyone we have continued our run of market beating sales growth, attracting more customers to Morrisons than ever before," said Chairman Ian Gibson. The supermarket chain said it expects low market growth to continue in the second half of the year, with further pressure on consumers.
Home Retail sees profit at low end of expectations
(2:33 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Home Retail Group /quotes/comstock/23s!e:home (UK:HOME 213.10, -8.30, -3.75%) said Thursday that it expects benchmark pretax profit for the first half of the year to fall by between 20% and 25%. The general merchandise and home improvement retailer said that for the full year it is expecting benchmark pretax profit of 250 million pounds ($387 million) to 275 million pounds, which it said is "in line with the bottom half of the current analyst range." In the first half of the year, the group said comparable sales at its Argos stores fell 6.5% and comparable sales at its Homebase chain slipped 0.8%.
More Earnings Watch
| Sept. 8, 2010 | Updates, advisories and surprises | |
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| Sept. 2, 2010 | Updates, advisories and surprises | |
| Sept. 1, 2010 | Updates, advisories and surprises |
Chuck Jaffe
On Mutual Funds