Mercedes maker Daimler expects slight growth in 2017 operating profit, sales

Mercedes maker Daimler guided for a slight increase in operating profit, unit sales, and revenue this year, barely meeting market expectations, with strong car sales growth continuing to outweigh weakness in trucks.

Analysts had expected reported earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of 14.2 billion euros ($15.3 billion) for 2017, according to the average estimate in a Reuters poll, a 10 percent increase on 2016’s reported 12.9 billion euros.

A slight rise in EBIT, according to Daimler’s terminology, means anything between 2.5 and 10 percent.

“Daimler expects to profit from slight growth in global demand for motor vehicles and from its strengthened market position,” it said in a statement on Thursday.

Daimler, which overtook BMW to become the world’s biggest-selling premium carmaker in 2016, reported 5 percent growth in unit sales and 3 percent growth in revenue for 2016.

Source: Reuters