Daimler Truck completed a successful first year as a stand-alone company, increasing sales and profits, and plans to pay its first shareholder dividend.
The Stuttgart, Germany-based truck, bus and van maker said it achieved its financial targets for 2022, its first year after splitting off as a separately listed company. It was lumped with Mercedes-Benz, which now operates its passenger vehicle group as a separate entity. Mercedes-Benz and Daimler Truck previously were part of Daimler AG.
Daimler Truck sold 520,300 units, 14% more trucks and buses than the 455,400 it sold worldwide in 2022. Demand for its trucks remains strong, the company said. Incoming orders and backlog are both at high levels.
EBIT and adjusted return on sales both on the rise
The maker of Freightliner trucks in North America reported a 55% improvement in earnings before interest and taxes to 3.9 billion euros ($4.2 billion) compared to 2.55 billion euros ($2.72 billion) a year earlier. The adjusted return on sales was 7.7% compared with 6.1% last year.
Revenue rose 28% to 50.9 billion euros compared with 39.8 billion in 2021. Daimler attributed the improvement to strong demand and better net pricing, offsetting inflation.
“Our strong results show that we managed our environment very well, be it the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war, ongoing supply chain constraints or high inflation,” Martin Daum, Daimler Truck chairman, said in a news release.
The results will likely lead to Daimler Truck’s first annual dividend of 1.30 euros per share in June.
Daimler Truck expects difficult economic conditions this year, including high energy prices and tension in some supply chains. But it is guiding heavy-duty truck markets in North America and Europe at 280,000 to 320,000 trucks in each. The company expects its 2023 unit sales to range between 510,000 and 530,000 units.
“We are on a journey to benchmark profitability, but there is still a way to go, especially on costs given the inflationary pressures,” CFO Jochen Goetz said. “Our outlook shows that we will continue our self-help measures to improve our financials.”
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