BMW Financial Services (BMW FS), the finance arm of the German automotive manufacturer, reported a pre-tax profit of €449m for the first quarter of 2013, up 3.5% year-on-year.

The division signed more than 340,000 new lease and retail finance contracts in the three months to 31 March, an 11.2% increase from the quarter one 2012 figure. Leasing business increased 9.6% and credit financing by 12.1%, according to BMW Group’s interim management report.

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The report acknowledged the "sharp rise" in new business, which it attributed mainly to "positive developments" in the US market.

As a percentage of total BMW FS new business, leasing accounted for approximately one third (33.8%) and credit financing for two thirds (66.2%). The division increased revenue 0.6% year-on-year to €4.83bn and grew its penetration of Group vehicle sales to 44.2%, an increase of six percentage points on the 2012 figure.

Fleet leasing by Alphabet, BMW FS’s multi-marque fleet lessor, signed 28,212 new contracts globally, increasing its total portfolio by 5.9% to 508,560 contracts. A BMW statement attached to the results said this growth consolidated Alphabet’s position among the top four fleet providers in Europe.

Overall, BMW Group reported a 3% year-on- year drop in net profit to €1.31bn.

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Friedrich Eichiner, chief financial officer of BMW Group, described the BMW FS results as "a very successful first quarter" and said much of the business growth was in the US, Chinese and German markets.

Eichiner added the used-car markets had been "largely stable" in Germany, France, the UK and the US since the end of 2012, but "remained weak" in Southern Europe, a situation he expects to continue for the rest of the year.