Daimler sees more profit this year
Frankfurt, February 7, 2014
Daimler forecast a significant increase in profit this year as strong sales of its new luxury Mercedes-Benz models, such as the S-Class limousine, help it shake off past earnings disappointments.
Having dropped to third place in luxury car sales rankings in 2011 behind German rivals BMW and Volkswagen's Audi, Daimler's premium car division narrowed the gap in 2013 thanks to its redesigned vehicles, which also include new compact cars such as the A-Class sedan.
Daimler reported a 45 per cent rise in fourth-quarter adjusted group EBIT to 2.53 billion euros ($3.42 billion), above the 2.32bn euros forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll.
Mercedes-Benz sales in Europe and the US rose last year, offsetting a slight decline in Daimler's German home market.-Reuters