Daimler says profit s from Mercedes-Benz division to rise in 2020

Stuttgart-based car and trucks maker Daimler said that it expects the operating profit from its Mercedes-Benz unit to exceed that of the previous year. The announcement came even after the company had abandoned its outlook earlier in April.

The company’s earnings for the first quarter before interest and taxes (EBIT) was €617 million ($669.45 million). The data was lower from its 2019 earnings of €2.8 billion, in which €510 million came from its Mercedes-Benz unit.

Daimler said that it expects its group revenue and EBIT to still be below the year-earlier period. However, with substantial one-off charges, the Mercedes-Benz Cars & Vans division could deliver EBIT above prior-year.

Daimler had pre-released preliminary results last week which showed a plunge of nearly 70% in its first-quarter operating profit and warned that its cash flow would fall in 2020.