In the third quarter, the German automotive group Daimler increased its operating profit by 18 percent year-on-year to 2.6 billion euros (66.9 billion CZK), thus exceeding analysts’ estimates.
The carmaker achieved this economic result despite a 30 percent drop in sales of Mercedes-Benz cars due to a global shortage of chips. The group focused on more profitable cars and reduced costs. The company said it should meet its full-year profit target.
Analysts interviewed by Refinitiv estimated that the company would report an operating profit of 2.3 billion euros. The company’s revenues remained almost unchanged at 40.1 billion euros, compared to 40.3 billion euros in the third quarter of 2020.
The carmaker said it expects chip supply to improve in the fourth quarter and that “the prevailing structural shortage of semiconductors will remain a problem in 2022, but should improve compared to 2021”. However, the company warned that “it remains difficult to provide an accurate forecast of how the supply situation will develop”.
Daimler stated that it had “strict control” over costs in the third quarter and focused on more profitable models, including those from the Maybach and AMG brands. This year, the group expects lower sales of the Mercedes-Benz brand compared to 2020. However, it has maintained a margin forecast of between ten and twelve for this division.
The company also maintained its six- to eight percent margin forecast for Daimler Trucks’ truck and bus division, which is scheduled to separate in December.
Daimler unveiled plans to divide the division and list its shares in early February. The group also stated at the time that the remaining part of it, including the production of passenger cars, would be renamed Mercedes-Benz in the future.
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