Daimler Truck Revenue Falls on Weakness in China, Mercedes-Benz Segment — Update

By David Sachs

Daimler Truck's second-quarter revenue fell on weak China performance that was compounded by a drop in the company's Mercedes-Benz truck division, prompting a commitment from executives to cut costs.

The German truck-and-bus maker said Thursday that revenue fell 4% to 13.325 billion euros ($14.42 billion) from the second quarter of last year. Revenue beat market expectations of EUR13.12 billion, according to the Visible Alpha consensus.

Daimler Truck, which counts Mercedes-Benz as its largest individual shareholder, said earnings in the Mercedes-branded truck business tumbled 45% on an adjusted basis. The company will implement new cost-savings measures, Chief Financial Officer Eva Scherer said.

"At Mercedes-Benz, a lot of efforts have been taken to improve our cost structure," Scherer said. "However, we cannot be satisfied with the Q2 result."

The division's adjusted earnings before interest and taxes finished the quarter at EUR299 million after truck sales fell 22% and revenue slipped 17%, the company said. Details of the business's weakness came after Daimler Truck reported broader key financial figures in July.

Late Wednesday, the company slashed its earnings forecast for the year, citing a hit from its Chinese joint venture amid persistent weakness in the country. Daimler lowered its targets for unit sales, revenue, and earnings before interest and taxes on both a raw and adjusted basis.

As a group, second-quarter incoming orders fell 5% on year to 92,569, while earnings per share fell 17% to EUR0.93, the company said.

Write to David Sachs at david.sachs@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 01, 2024 06:14 ET (10:14 GMT)

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