Daimler CEO Zetsche on the electric car offensive: “Good for the CO2 balance – but not so good for our consolidated balance sheet”

05/04/2018

Daimler CEO Zetsche on the electric car offensive “Good for the CO2 balance – but not so good for our consolidated balance sheet”

REUTERS

Mercedes-Maybach 6: During the shareholder meeting in Berlin shows Daimler strength

The billion-euro investment in electric mobility at the Stuttgart carmaker Daimler Show stock market chart not without consequences for the balance sheet. CEO Dieter Zetsche then agreed to the shareholders at the Annual General Meeting on Thursday in Berlin. “More electric cars are good for the carbon footprint, but not so good for our consolidated balance sheet – at least temporarily,” said Zetsche on Thursday at the Annual General Meeting in Berlin. “That’s why we do not shy away from efficiency,” added Zetsche.

Zetsche again stressed the importance of diesel for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. “Without any doubt, we automakers have a responsibility when it comes to reconciling individual mobility, climate protection and air pollution control,” he said.

Zetsche explicitly rejected driving bans, and he also spoke indirectly against a hardware upgrade: Daimler advocated “what is technically reasonable and financially responsible”. “For this, the announced software updates for over three million vehicles are an effective and relatively quick solution.”

Daimler Show stock market chart continues to rely on its model and investment offensive. “The pace of our product offensive remains high,” said Zetsche.

The carmaker from Stuttgart has taken the lead in the premium segment worldwide with the overhaul of its entire range, which started around five years ago. With new products, this year alone more than a dozen new car models such as the new edition of the compact car A-Class, the Group will continue to strengthen its economic backbone, added Zetsche. In the automotive business, a sustained return on sales of nine percent is to be achieved.

With this financial power, the company wants to master the biggest transformation of its history. The whole auto industry is currently in transition – from the combustion engine to alternative drives, from pure automakers to mobility service providers to the development of self-driving cars.

Despite record numbers – Diesel debate continues

Daimler Show stock market chart can present its shareholders with record numbers at the AGM this Thursday (starting at 10:00 am in Berlin) and still has to expect headwinds again. shareholder representatives have announced this year too Constant topic of raising diesel, Shortly before the start of the Annual General Meeting, Daimler confirmed the Magenziel for the Mercedes-Benz passenger car division on Thursday. The Group intends to achieve a margin of 8 to 10 percent in the current financial year.

In addition, the Management Board and Supervisory Board will probably have to listen to a few questions about the cartel allegations against Daimler and other German carmakers. An alliance of environmentalists, human rights activists and defenders has also called for a rally. In addition, the IG Metall wants to protest against the planned closure of the Daimler research department in Ulm.

One topic is likely to be the new major shareholder from China, Geely founder Li Shufu, who surprisingly got involved with just under ten percent of Daimler’s shares in February. He himself is not expected in Berlin.

Daimler sold so many vehicles in 2017 as never before and thus achieved best sales and profits. 3.9 billion euros are to be paid as a dividend to the shareholders, 400 million euros more than in the previous year and the highest dividend amount in the Dax 30 (see overview),

Also to be discussed on Thursday, the recently announced merger of the car sharing offer with BMW, the planned restructuring of the group and not least the Entry of Chinese billionaire Li Shufu as the new major Daimler shareholder – who will not appear personally in Berlin, by the way. Li Shufu had bought just under ten percent of Daimler shares in February.

Shareholder representatives demand clarification in the debate about pollutant emissions from vehicles. Daimler has since last year, a total of three million diesel vehicles by software update touch up. The group has always rejected the accusation of having used illegal defeat devices. The Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt had recently expressed this suspicion on the Vito transporter. A final assessment of the authority is still pending.

Price fixing in truck division

There are also criticisms of the Supervisory Board and its handling of the allegations that Daimler had agreed with other manufacturers for years on technology, costs and suppliers. Daimler had made itself known to the authorities, but the European Commission is still investigating the case. According to a motion of the umbrella association of critical shareholders, the guards would have had to take action at the latest after the EU had ordered the company to pay billions in another case, the truck cartel.

As far as these illegal price agreements among truck manufacturers are concerned, however, Tüngler now attests to the panel’s determination to contribute to the clarification. “We recognize that the board is taking the matter very seriously and is not trying to sweep the issues under the carpet, as it did at Volkswagen,” he said.

Background is an opinion of the Munich law professor Mathias Habersack, which this had created on behalf of the supervisory board. Habersack certifies the guards to have fully complied with their surveillance task. At the same time, however, according to Tüngler, it also emerged that the matter was not being filed with it but was being investigated further. In this context, it is also about possible claims for damages against incumbent or former board members.

Dividend King: Daimler increases the dividend by 12 percent to 3.65 euros per share. As a result, Daimler and Allianz are currently offering a dividend yield of more than 5 percent. At 3.9 billion euros, Daimler also pays the highest dividend amount in the Dax – more than Allianz, Telekom or Siemens. The car companies (Daimler, BMW, VW and Continental) pay a total of nearly a quarter of the total dividend in the Dax, which should rise to the record level of 36 billion euros, according to calculations by Ernst and Young (EY). 20 of the 30 DAX companies pay a record dividend for the 2017 financial year …

Dividend hunters: The siblings Stefan Quandt and Susanne Klatten (pictured) will shortly receive € 1.12 billion from BMW. The car company made 2017 8.7 billion euros profit. According to the proposal of the Management Board and the Supervisory Board, 30 percent of this is to be distributed to shareholders as a dividend, which would correspond to 4 euros per share. Stefan Quandt owns 25.8 percent of the ordinary shares and will receive a dividend of 622 million euros after the Annual General Meeting; his sister Susanne Klatten will receive 504 million euros for her 20.9 percent of the shares. The dividend yield of BMW shares is currently around 4.5 percent.

At the beginning of the dividend season, however, Deutsche Bank provides an example of how not to do it: while the dividend after the third consecutive year of loss (and two years with zero dividends) is only 11 cents per share, the bankers’ bonuses increase Deutsche Bank to 2.3 billion euros. As a result, the distribution to its own employees is ten times higher than the distribution to the shareholders (total dividend of EUR 230 million). Such a dividend policy is unlikely to attract new shareholders, especially since numerous DAX companies are significantly increasing their dividend …

Adidas: The sporting goods manufacturer announced in mid-March a whopping dividend increase from 2 to 2.60 euros. In addition, Adidas starts a share buyback program. The profit targets also increased Adidas – by 2020, the profit per year to increase by about 20 percent. Investors were thrilled that the stock gained 12% on the day of the announcement and is near record high. With a current dividend yield of less than 2 percent, Adidas is far behind the dividend kings in the DAX …

Allianz A size is the insurance company, despite all the whining about low interest rates, unbroken in view of the internally accumulated capital. The Munich Group rejects a takeover after the next and rather consider the shareholders – with share buybacks or the lush dividend, which should rise to 8 euros this year. Thus Allianz, like Daimler, offers a dividend yield of around 5 percent. With 3.5 billion euros, the alliance also pays the second highest dividend amount in the Dax, only Daimler pays more.

Dax’s recent price slump below the 12,000 point mark ensures that Dax’s dividend yields will rise again. A total of 8 Dax companies currently offer a dividend yield of at least 4 percent. Daimler, Allianz, RWE, Munich Re, BMW, Linde, BASF and Deutsche Telekom belong to this Top 8.

RWE: In addition to the increased dividend, the energy provider RWE will pay a one-time special dividend this year, as RWE and Eon are dividing the market again by dividing RWE’s green electricity subsidiary Innogy. In this way, RWE shareholders will receive 1.50 euros per share this year, which corresponds to a dividend yield of currently more than 12 percent. But beware: At RWE this figure is not meaningful due to the one-time special distribution, it is above all the continuity.

Deutsche Telekom: The planned merger between T-Mobile US and Sprint in the US has burst – and with it the hope for rapidly rising prices. The price development of the share remains well behind the Dax: Since a dividend yield of currently around 5 percent is only a small consolation. Anyway, many long-standing T-shareholders are only waiting for the annual dividend, which is likely to rise 8 percent this year to 0.65 euros. Of the total dividend of 3 billion euros, the third highest in the Dax, also benefits the federal government.

Siemens: Siemens boss Joe Kaeser drives the sale of parts of the company, the medical division Healthineers has completed a successful IPO. For dividend hunters, Siemens is an interesting asset as the Group has been steadily increasing its payout for years. For 2017, Siemens already paid a dividend of 3.70 euros per share in January 2018, with the dividend yield currently around 3 percent.

BASF: The price development is mauve, but as a dividend payer, the chemical company remains a fixed size for investors. With € 2.8 billion dividend total, the group ranks in the top 5, the dividend per share should rise according to EY by 3 percent to 3.10 euros. BASF is thus achieving a dividend yield of around 4 percent.

BMW: For the carmaker from Bavaria, the dividend is attractive not only for the owner family Klatten / Quandt, which collects billions of euros every year: Experts expect an increase to 4 euros per share, which corresponds to a dividend yield of currently 4.5 percent. With a payout ratio of 30 percent, however, BMW is still below the Dax average – the major shareholders Quandt / Klatten are therefore relatively modest.

Volkswagen: Volkswagen scrapped its biggest legal risk in the US after the diesel scandal, the costs for processing the exhaust gas scandal have halved in 2017. VW deserves its best – and should distribute just under 4 euros per share for the Dax-listed preference share. This is almost twice as much as in the previous year, so that the dividend yield of the car maker again exceeds the mark of 3 percent. VW is back on track and with the energy companies RWE and Eon for significantly responsible that the dividends in the Dax this year rise to record levels.

Deutsche Post: The logistics company increases its dividend by 11 percent to 1.15 euros per share. With a dividend yield of just under 4 percent and dividends that have been rising for years, the “Yellow Share” is also attractive to dividend hunters.

Bayer: The largest deal in the industry’s history, the $ 66 billion acquisition of the US agricultural specialist Monsanto, the Leverkusen-based group already threaded in 2016 – but he will probably complete only this year. Bayer increases the dividend by 4 percent to 2.80 euros per share. Since the share price has suffered greatly in the past two years, Bayer is also one of the stocks worth a look, with a dividend yield of around 3 percent.

Continental: The automotive supplier from Hanover has been through stormy stock market years since the entry of the majority shareholder Schaeffler. The booming auto industry has pushed the price up again. The dividend of € 4.50 per share helps Schaefflers to reduce its debt. However, the dividend yield of around 2.4 percent is rather below average.

HeidelbergCement The construction materials company is taking a calmer turn after taking over Italian competitor Italcementi. For investors, there should be a payout of 1.90 euros per share – which gives a dividend yield of just under 2 percent.

Munich Re: At the Annual General Meeting in April 2017, Nikolaus von Bomhard handed over the lead to his successor, Joachim Wenning (right), and the new boss will continue the strategy of keeping shareholders with an attractive and reliable dividend. For 2017, shareholders can expect a rising payout of € 8.25. The dividend yield currently: 4.7 percent.

Zero number: Commerzbank will be the only Dax Group to pay a dividend for the year 2017. For the financial year 2018, however, the bank has again promised a dividend – which would then be paid in 2019.

Eon: The energy company has surprised shareholders with a radical redesign plan. The year 2017 ended Eon after a long dry spell again with a billion profit, the dividend for the past financial year should rise to 0.30 euros per share. That would be an increase of more than 50 percent.

Vonovia: The biggest landlord in Germany is another way to bet on the real estate boom in the country. The dividend is expected to rise by 18 percent to 1.32 euros, estimates EY. Here, too, the dividend yield is currently more than 4 percent, which is above the Dax average of an expected 2.8 percent.

Lufthansa: The Dax Highflyer of the past two years is likely to distribute a dividend of 0.80 euros to shareholders this year, that would be an increase of 60 percent. The smashing of Air Berlin has strengthened Lufthansa. For investors, it is therefore an interesting dividend value despite the significant price increase – the current dividend yield is around 3 percent.

As many vehicles sold as never before, Daimler had achieved best-in-class sales and profits in 2017 as well. With a turnover of 164.3 billion euros (+7 percent), the Dax Group made earnings before interest and taxes of 14.7 billion euros – 14 percent more than in the previous year. The profit, which is attributable to the bottom line on the shareholders, the plus was even more pronounced. 10.5 billion euros represent an increase of 23 percent compared to the previous year.

To home page