BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - German automaker Daimler AG (DDAIF.PK) reported Friday that its first-quarter net profit attributable to the shareholders declined to 2.10 billion euros from last year's 2.27 billion euros. Earnings per share dropped to 1.96 euros from 2.12 euros a year ago.
First-quarter EBIT was 2.80 billion euros, down from prior year's 3.34 billion euros.
Revenue dropped slightly to 39.7 billion euros from 39.8 billion euros a year ago. Unit sales in the quarter declined 4 percent to 773,800 units of passenger cars and commercial vehicles.
Looking ahead, for fiscal 2019, the company continues to expect slight increase in Group EBIT, revenues and unit sales.
The company noted that Mercedes-Benz Cars, Daimler Trucks and Daimler Financial Services anticipate slight increases in revenue. However, the company projects significant revenue growth in Mercedes-Benz Vans and Daimler Buses divisions.
Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, said, 'We cannot and will not be satisfied with this - as expected - moderate start to the year. We now have to work hard to achieve our targets for 2019. Based on our sales planning and the countermeasures we have already initiated, we are confident that we will achieve those targets.'
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX