Death of The Diesel – Q3 Daimler Earnings Guidance Cut

AutoInformed.com on Daimler Earnings Drop

Unsaid by Daimler is that a new EU regulation that requires on road testing of vehicles for emissions compliance has caught many makers “cycle cheating” so the calibrations have to be redone before sale. This in autoInformed’s view was entirely predictable.

Because of developments that require an increase in expenses in connection with ongoing governmental proceedings and measures in various regions on Mercedes-Benz diesel vehicles, Daimler AG cut its earnings outlook for the year 2018.

Largely affected are  Mercedes-Benz Cars and Daimler Buses divisions and for the Daimler Group. They are now running at a loss now running at a loss.

Mercedes-Benz Vans has lower unit sales due to delays in vehicle deliveries. A ruling by the European Court of Justice, requires provisions for the potential need to act on certain vehicles still operating with the previously used refrigerant R134a. Daimler Buses records decreasing demand in some markets.

These  factors significantly alter the results of operations for the third quarter. As a result, earnings are now significantly below market expectations.

Revised Daimler *EBIT for  2018

  • Mercedes-Benz Cars: significantly below the prior-year leve
  • Daimler Trucks: significantly above the prior-year level (unchanged)
  • Mercedes-Benz Vans: significantly below the prior-year level (unchanged)
  • Daimler Buses: significantly below the prior-year level
  • Daimler Financial Services: in the prior year magnitude (unchanged) and
  • Daimler Group: significantly below the prior-year level

Group EBIT amounts to €2,488 million (Q3 2017: €3,409 million).

Free cash flow of the industrial business for the period of January through September 2018 amounts to minus €60 million (Q3 2017: plus €5,771 million)

All the stated figures are provisional and unaudited.

*EBIT, earnings before interest and taxes, is the measure of operating profit at Daimler and other auto groups.

 

 

About Ken Zino

Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
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One Response to Death of The Diesel – Q3 Daimler Earnings Guidance Cut

  1. Pingback: Death of the Diesel: Daimler in US Agrees to Pay $1.5BFor Noxious Diesel Emissions Fraud | AutoInformed

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