Daimler Trucks reports operating profit of 2.5 bln euros for 2019

Source: Xinhua | 2020-02-19

In fiscal year 2019, the operating profit (earnings before interest and taxes, EBIT) of Daimler Trucks declined by 11 percent year-on-year to 2.5 billion euros (2.7 billion U.S. dollars), the German commercial vehicle manufacturer said on Tuesday.

Although the company's unit sales fell by six percent to 488,500, revenues increased from 38.3 billion euros to 40.2 billion euros.

"2019 was a solid year for Daimler Trucks," said Martin Daum, chairman of the board of Daimler Truck AG. It was the third most successful financial year in the company's history.

The start of an "economic normalization in key markets" has been noticeable from the third quarter of 2019 onwards. According to Daimler Trucks, demand was still high at the beginning of last year, but had decreased by the end of 2019 particularly in North America, Europe and Japan.

"We responded to the economic headwind in key regions and adjusted our production," said Daum. For 2020, the company expects further declines in its most important markets.

Daimler Trucks already decided in November to reduce costs by approximately 550 million euros by 2022, including around 300 million euros in personnel costs.

"We want to and will permanently cut our costs. This is why we have intensified our efficiency measures," Daum said. (1 euro = 1.08 U.S. dollars)