Big goals from Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche.
As he did during the company’s last shareholders meeting, Daimler AG chief executive Dieter Zetsche emphasized the German giant was well on its way to profitable growth now and in the future.
“Our company is operating successfully,” he told more than 5,000 investors gathered in Berlin. Sales of Mercedes-Benz cars were up 12% during the first quarter, noted Zetsche, while sales of Daimler Trucks increased by 27%.
“We announced that we would emerge from the crisis with a lot of torque. We have kept our word: Actual developments were even more positive than expected,” Zetsche said.
Meanwhile, the product offensive started by Mercedes-Benz Cars in 2010 is beginning to peak. The launch of the new-generation C-Class and the new SLK in early 2011 will be followed in autumn by a new M-Class crossover and a completely new version of the small B-Class people-mover, the first of four new models in the compact segment.
“We want to make our (125th) anniversary year a record year as well,” Zetsche said.
From today’s perspective, Daimler anticipates unit sales of more than 1.2 million automobiles bearing the familiar Mercedes-Benz tri-star for all of 2011. Including the struggling Smart brand, unit sales should exceed 1.3 million, Zetsche said.
The Daimler Trucks division, meanwhile sold 90,000 vehicles in the first quarter.
In Europe, unit sales grew above all in Germany, France and Turkey. Unit sales by Trucks NAFTA increased by 32%, while increases were also recorded in Latin America.
Zetsche, acknowledged several factors with the potential to disrupt Daimler’s plans, notably the events in Japan and the political unrest in parts of the Arab world. So far, Daimler has so far not seen any noteworthy impact on production.
Overall, Daimler expects the global automotive markets will continue to expand in 2011. The Stuttgart-based carmaker expects revenues in full-year 2011 to be higher than in 2010, when they topped $130 billion. Earnings before interests and taxes also should be significantly higher than the roughly $9.6 billion achieved in 2010, the maker projects.
In the coming years, Daimler intends to further strengthen its profitability and to stabilize it at a high level with an overall return on sales in the automotive business of 9%, but 10% ROS for Mercedes-Benz Cars and a 17% return on equity by Daimler Financial Services division.
Daimler has been trying to position itself as a leader in the fast-shifting automotive market. “The focus of regional growth is shifting to Asia and we are experiencing a technological paradigm shift toward electric mobility,” Zetsche said.
Daimler must play a role in shaping this “dual transformation” without neglecting the core business and without putting all of one’s eggs in one basket in a volatile world, he said.
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By 2015, at the latest, the Mercedes-Benz brand intends to boost annual sales to at least 1.5 million cars. Daimler Trucks aims to sell half a million vehicles annually as of 2013.
Last year was a good year for the automotive industry, and for Daimler it was an excellent year, Zetsche said as the group’s sales increased 22%, to 1.9 million vehicles while net profits rose to $3.6 billion, compared to the 2009net loss of $3.5 billion.
With profits rising, Daimler’s Board of Management and the Supervisory Board recommended re-instituting the dividend of $2.45 per share. The dividend had been suspended for the past two years during the global financial crisis.
The reinstated dividend payout of $3 billion represented 40% of Daimler’s net profit, Zetsche said.