BMW says weak China demand could hurt full-year earnings

German automaker BMW said Tuesday that weaker demand from China could weigh on its full-year earnings, as it reported a slight drop in its second-quarter profits.

Chief financial officer Friedrich Eichiner said the world's most populous country, a robust source of growth for German car manufacturers in recent years, was now a riskier market. "The second half will be more heavily burdened by investments, development costs and personnel costs," Eichiner told a telephone conference.

"If the challenges in the Chinese market increase, we cannot rule out an impact on our forecasts."

BMW said it had sold 230,700 cars in China during the first half, a modest increase of just 2.3 percent compared with the same period last year.