By Max Bernhard 
 

BMW AG (BMW.XE) on Friday reported a sharp drop in full-year earnings, and gave a muted outlook for the year ahead.

Aftertax profit for the year fell 17% to 7.21 billion euros ($8.16 billion), while revenue edged 0.8% lower to EUR97.48 billion, BMW said. The luxury-car maker plans to propose a dividend on common stock of EUR3.50 a share, and EUR3.52 on preferred shares.

The key operating-profit margin in the company's automotive segment dropped to 7.2% from 9.2% last year.

Chief Executive Harald Krueger said 2018 was a challenging year for the entire industry, which was hit by global trade tensions, tightened emissions regulation and other emissions issues.

"The challenges facing the entire sector are unlikely to diminish in the coming months. Great efforts will therefore be needed across the entire group to help shape the sector's transformation under such conditions," he said.

BMW said it expects deliveries to increase slightly this year.

Write to Max Bernhard at max.bernhard@dowjones.com; @mxbernhard

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 15, 2019 06:42 ET (10:42 GMT)