Daimler has had a better third quarter than analysts predicted. The operating profit amounts to more than € 3 billion, a considerable contrast to the loss of almost € 1.7 billion in the second quarter. The car manufacturer expects to be able to maintain the positive trend for the rest of the year.
Slowly but surely, the car market is reviving after a huge blow from the corona virus. At Daimler, this translates into an operating profit of € 3.07 billion, while Refinitiv analysts had predicted that this figure would remain at € 2.14 billion. Daimler is doing considerably better than expected. Even last year’s figures are broken, because in the third quarter of 2019, Daimler’s operating profit was still € 2.6 billion. CFO Harald Wilhelm is therefore optimistic. “The third quarter shows a very strong performance and provides further evidence that we are on the right track,” he said in a statement. “We expect this positive development to continue in the fourth quarter.”
This news is not entirely out of the blue. On its investor day, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz and Smart already announced that sales were recovering. In addition, substantial cutbacks have been announced. In five years’ time fixed costs must be reduced by 20 percent. Daimler also wants to focus more on the higher segment of the market. The goal is to increase the profit margin per car in this way. There is also a series of electric models on the way, including the EQS that is eager behind the scenes. Daimler will publish the full quarterly report on October 23. Then the company also shares an up-to-date forecast for the rest of the year.