Mercedes-Benz posted a drop in second-quarter sales of just under 4% to 36.7 billion euros ($39.8 billion), the Stuttgart-based company said.
Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) fell by almost a fifth compared to the same period last year, to slightly more than 4 billion euros.
Adjusted margin before interest and taxes – in other words, the ratio of earnings from daily operations to sales – in the company’s core automotive business was 10.2% from April to June. That’s more than 3% below the previous year’s figure.
In the second quarter, sales of particularly lucrative high-end models and overall sales fell compared to the same quarter last year, including in the important Chinese market.
Analysts also expected a slightly higher margin on average.
Mercedes boss Ola Källenius lowered the profit forecast for the car division at the upper end of the range.
However, the vans are doing better than previously expected.
On the other hand, the company changed its group forecasts for total sales this year and earnings before interest and taxes.
“Sales and model mix are expected to improve in the second half of the year, supported by further market launches of new models, especially in the premium segment,” Källenius said in a statement.
Source: Seebiz.eu
Photo: Archive Autoblog.rs / Mercedes
Source: autoblog.rs
