Truck Profit Growth Helps Daimler AG Improve Results
Stronger results at Daimler AG’s heavy-truck business helped the German vehicle maker post earnings growth of 20% in the fourth quarter and 36% in 2015, producing the best sales year since 2006 with a total of 502,500 units.
Daimler Trucks in the fourth quarter raised earnings before interest taxes to 684 million euros ($763 million) from 583 million euros in the prior year period, or about 20% of the company’s fourth-quarter earnings on that basis of 3.46 billion euros.
For the full year, the truck unit’s results showed 32% higher profit before interest and taxes of 2.74 billion euros as revenue rose 16% to 37.6 billion euros. Companywide earnings last year rose 36% to 13.8 billion euros.
“The positive earnings development was mainly the result of higher unit sales in the Nafta region and Europe as well as the realization of further efficiency improvements and positive exchange-rate effects,” a company statement said about the full-year truck unit results. Earnings were hurt by factors such as lower sales in Latin America, higher warranty costs and technology investments.
In its earnings presentation, Daimler also forecast that demand for Classes 6-8 trucks in North America could fall about 10%, citing “the gradual weakening of the industrial sector.” For 2016, the company expects worldwide truck results to track last year.
Incoming orders so far for 2016 in the Nafta region have fallen more than 20% to 168,000 from 217,000. Last year, Nafta region sales rose 20% to 192,000.
Daimler’s full-year 2015 earnings excluding one-time items were 13.8 billion euros, a 36% improvement.
