Daimler Second-Quarter Earnings Rise but U.S. Heavy-Duty Orders Plunge
Daimler AG, the world’s largest truck manufacturer, reported second-quarter net profit rose 3% to $2.64 billion — or $2.50 per diluted share — powered by sales of cars and vans even as U.S. orders for medium- and heavy-duty trucks plunged.
Revenue for the quarter ended June 30 climbed 3% to $42.5 billion.
In its earnings report, the company said, “In North America, weak overall investment is having a significant impact on the truck market. From today’s perspective, demand for Class 6-8 trucks is likely to decrease by approximately 15%.”
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In the quarter, orders for Daimler's U.S. medium- and heavy-duty trucks plunged 43% to 19,989 units from 34,822 a year earlier, the manufacturer said.
U.S. retail sales of medium- and heavy-duty units fell 10% to 36,739 in the quarter compared with 40,694 in the 2015 period.
At the same time, Daimler Trucks North America increased its Class 8 market share by in the Nafta region to 43.2% from 35.9%. But medium’s share slipped to 36.4% from 40.9%, Daimler said.
For the six-month period, net profit fell 13% to $4.2 billion, or $3.90 Euros.
Revenue climbed 3% to $81 billion.
But incoming U.S. orders for medium- and heavy-duty trucks plummeted 50% to 41,123 compared with 82,751 a year earlier.
U.S. retail sales of medium- and heavy-duty trucks fell 3% 72,501.
Its Class 8 share in the Nafta market rose to 43.6%, compared with 37.9% in the 2015 six-month period. Medium’s share dropped to 38.5% from 41%.
