Profit To Rise “Significantly” Again In 2011
Mercedes profits created much less of a storm than BMWs or VWs, after all EBIT only rose 70 per cent compared with BMW’s quadrupling and VW’s tripling performances.
Mercedes parent Daimler’s first quarter performance was described as “solid” by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
“However taking into account the huge beats at VW and BMW, Daimler’s current performance looks a little subdued by comparison,” said Merrill Lynch analyst Fraser Hill.
Daimler EBIT rose to €2.03 billion in the first quarter from €1.19 billion in the same period of 2010, and the company said it forecast a “significantly” higher performance for the whole year than the previous €7.2 billion.
Profits were boosted by big sales of the top of the range S class in China. S class sales rose 25 per cent and overall sales in China jumped 78 per cent. Mercedes plans to raise sales this year to 1.3 million vehicles, including Smart cars, up from 1.28 million in 2010
Deutsche Bank said it expected the business to gain momentum over the rest of the year.
“Adverse currency developments cu
rrently being in our view the main risk to the profitability in subsequent years,” said Deutsche Bank’s Gaetan Toulemonde.
Neil Winton – May 15, 2011
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