German car manufacturer BMW has become more profitable in the past year thanks to price increases and a shift towards more expensive models. While turnover climbed by 9% to €155.5 billion ($169 billion), thanks to increased sales, operating earnings before interest and taxes rose by almost a third to €18.5 billion, the group announced in Munich on Thursday. The operating margin in automotive engineering, the company’s most important division, rose by 1.2 percentage points to 9.8%. Analysts had expected an even better figure. The share price fluctuated significantly after the announcement, at o…