Diesel crisis and cartel allegations could not harm Daimler: The Stuttgart-based group sold more cars in 2017 and made big profits. Employees can look forward to high premiums.
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Daimler headquarters in Sindelfingen
Thursday, 01.02.2018
15:01 clock
The Stuttgart-based carmaker Daimler sold significantly more cars in 2017 and posted record sales and earnings. Despite diesel debates and cartel allegations, the Stuttgart-based group posted sales of 164.3 billion euros – seven percent more than in 2016. Daimler thus achieved a surplus of 10.9 billion euros – 24 percent more than in the previous year. However, unlike in 2017, the Dax Group had booked some special charges in 2016, so the comparison figure was low.
The employees were “once again succeeded in breaking the record of the previous year,” said Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche. Above all, the recovery of the truck business and the good course of car sales were decisive for the plus; Financial services once again contributed strongly to the increase. However, Daimler also missed due to the slower growth at Mercedes-Benz Cars in the final quarter, the annual sales increase of at least 10 percent.
5700 euro premium for employees
The employees of the Stuttgart carmaker Daimler get a much higher premium this year because of the good numbers. In addition, the approximately 130,000 employees employed in Germany under the collective agreement are to receive 5,700 euros in April, the group said. That was the highest profit participation in the company history. In 2017, the employees received a bonus of € 5,500, compared with € 5650 the year before.
The premium is based on the Group’s operating profit in the respective previous year, which was considerably higher in 2017 than in 2016. Worldwide, Daimler recently had a good 289,300 employees, about two percent more than one year ago.
For the new year, Daimler is aiming for a “slight” increase in sales and sales, which corresponds to an increase of up to five percent. However, costs for new technologies and, among other things, the stronger euro make sure that Daimler is confident that this year only at an operating level at Group level and in the passenger car segment. Because the outlook was not overwhelming, investors were disappointed: Daimler shares slid off at times by 2.6 percent.