MUNICH, March 19 (Reuters) - BMW AG said on Wednesday it would strive to match last year's profits in 2003 as it grapples with high development costs, but stopped short of giving a precise forecast, citing uncertainty over Iraq.
"In the light of the tense global political situation, it is difficult at the beginning of 2003 to make a definite forecast about business development," BMW said in a statement at its annual news conference.
"At group level, however, the BMW Group will strive to match the level of earnings achieved in 2002."
Although investment spending kept a cap on profit growth in 2002, BMW still managed to post a 1.7 percent rise in pre-tax profit to 3.3 billion euros, its third record year in a row. Group net profit climbed 8.3 percent to 2.02 billion euros.