Daimler's pre-interest and tax profit reached 6.6 billion euros last year, up 52% u200bu200byear-on-year

On January 28, Daimler announced preliminary financial data for the 2020 fiscal year. Daimler said that the strong performance in the fourth quarter of last year helped the group’s operating profit in 2020 to be better than expected; in addition, the group’s free cash flow, the adjusted return on sales of the Mercedes-Benz car and truck divisions, and Daimler’s mobility The return on equity of the business is higher than the group's performance guidelines and market expectations.

(Image source: Daimler)

Thanks to the faster-than-expected industry recovery and the company's cost-saving measures, Daimler Group's 2020 pre-interest and tax profit will reach 6.6 billion euros ($8 billion), which is higher than the previous analyst consensus The Group’s industrial free cash flow was 8.259 billion euros, higher than the expected 5.296 billion euros; net industrial liquidity was 17.9 billion euros, at the end of the third quarter of last year. This figure is 13.1 billion euros.

Daimler said, 'Considering the results of cost-saving measures in the fourth quarter and the expected good basic demand, the company expects to achieve positive business development in 2021.' However, Daimler also warned that, The current shortage of semiconductor components and the interruption caused by the new crown pneumonia epidemic may affect the performance of the first quarter of this year. Like other competitors, Daimler is currently facing a chip supply bottleneck.

In contrast, Daimler performed slightly better among the top three German automakers. Volkswagen said last week that due to the epidemic, the company's profit in 2020 was almost halved; while BMW said that its free cash flow in 2020 far exceeded expectations.