Daimler Expects Lower Earnings, Revenue This Year After Tough 1Q

   By Pietro Lombardi

Daimler AG (DAI.XE) expects revenue and earnings to fall this year due to the negative effects of the coronavirus pandemic, which has dealt a hard blow to the company in the first quarter.

The German car maker said late Wednesday that it expects earnings before interest and taxes to fall this year compared with 2019. Revenue, industrial free cash flow and vehicle sales are also seen declining, with the company's Mercedes-Benz cars, Mercedes-Benz vans, Daimler trucks and Daimler buses businesses expected to post lower unit sales, it said.

"The effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on customer demand, supply chains and vehicle production cannot be assessed with the usual degree of detail and certainty, making the re-evaluation of the forecast for the fiscal year 2020 complex," it said.

The pandemic has already hit the company's business in the first three months of the year, preliminary figures show, with earnings plunging from the same period a year earlier.

According to preliminary figures, the Group's Ebit in the first quarter fell to 617 million euros ($668 million) from EUR2.80 billion. Adjusted Ebit also fell sharply to EUR719 million from EUR2.31 billion.

Earnings declined across its Mercedes-Benz cars and vans, Daimler trucks and buses, as well as Daimler Mobility operations.

"Having implemented a comprehensive set of cash protection measures and having increased our financial flexibility, we are confident that we are well positioned to manage the business, both during and after the Covid-19 pandemic," it said.

The company will release first-quarter results and an update on the situation on April 29.

Write to Pietro Lombardi at pietro.lombardi@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 23, 2020 01:34 ET (05:34 GMT)

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