BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - German automaker Daimler AG (DDAIF.PK) reported that its first-quarter net profit attributable to the shareholders dropped to 94 million euros or 0.09 euros per share from 2.10 billion euros or 1.96 euros per share in the same quarter last year.
Revenue for the quarter declined to 37.22 billion euros from 39.70 billion euros in the prior year.
First-quarter unit sales were 644,300 vehicles compared to 773,800 vehicles in the prior year.
The effects of the virus pandemic and the resulting decrease in unit sales led to a significant earnings downturn at Mercedes-Benz Cars & Vans as well as Daimler Trucks & Buses. Earnings at Daimler Mobility were also negatively impacted by additional expenses for credit risk provisions in connection with the pandemic.
Sales by the Mercedes-Benz Cars & Vans division decreased by 16% to 546,700 vehicles in the first quarter from last year. Revenue was 23.2 billion euros, down from 24.1 billion euros in the prior year.
Sales by Mercedes-Benz Cars slipped by 15% to 470,600 vehicles in the first quarter from the prior year. Mercedes-Benz Vans' sales were down 22% to 76,200 vehicles from the previous year.
Daimler Trucks & Buses division reported a decrease in unit sales of 20% to 97,600 vehicles in the first quarter. Revenue was 8.7 billion euros compared to 10.2 billion euros in the previous year.
At Daimler Mobility, new business decreased by 7% to 16.2 billion euros from the previous year. Revenue was 7.1 billion euros, compared to 6.9 billion euros in the prior year.
From today's perspective, a significant decline in global economic output must be anticipated for the year 2020 as a whole.
Worldwide demand for cars is likely to be severely affected by the corona crisis in most of the sales regions important for Daimler.
The company expects that Group revenue for the full-year 2020 will also be lower than in the previous year. It expects decline in unit sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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