Daimler, parent company of Mercedez-Benz and Setra, said it has had a very successful third quarter according to its latest financial statement, released last week.
Group EBIT amounted to €1,968m (Q3 2010: €2,418m), although once adjusted for special factors it was higher than the previous year at €2,110m (Q3 2010: €2,022m). Net profit for the period was €1,360m (Q3 2010 €1,610m) with earnings per share at €1.21 (Q3 2010 €1.44).
Total unit sales were up 11% in the third quarter compared with the same time in the previous year, with 525,500 car and commercial vehicle sales worldwide. Group revenue increased significantly by 5% to €26.4 billion (Q3 2010: €25.1 billion). Adjusted for exchange-rate effects, the increase was 8%.
Daimler Buses increased its unit sales to 9,200 complete buses and chassis (Q3 2010: 9,100), mainly because of the positive development of chassis sales. Revenue of €1,041m was also higher than in the prior-year period (Q3 2010: €1,007m).
The division achieved EBIT of €25 million (Q3 2010: €11 million). Its return on sales therefore increased from 1.1% to 2.4%. As well as the overall increase in unit sales, this positive earnings development was caused by positive exchange-rate effects.
Daimler Buses assumes it will sell more than 40,000 complete buses and bus chassis in the year 2011, with a structural shift towards bus chassis.
On the basis of current estimates, the Daimler Group said it continues to assume it will post EBIT from the ongoing business in 2011 which will be significantly higher than the level of 2010. Targets for return on sales are 10% for Mercedes-Benz Cars, 8% for Daimler Trucks, 9% for Mercedes-Benz Vans and 6% for Daimler Buses; the target for return on equity for Daimler Financial Services is 17%.
