Daimler Forecasts Financial Growth in Q4

Things are improving for Daimler AG, especially when taking into account the positive development the company has registered in the third quarter of the year. To give you an example, the third-quarter net profit was 56 million euro, compared to the second quarter when the it posted a net loss of 1,062 million euro. Furthermore, the Q3 revenue was 19.3 billion euro versus Q2 when it recorded "only" 19.6 billion euro.

Well, Daimler expects to grow bigger in the fourth quarter but admits that significant decreases in unit sales and revenue in full-year 2009 are quite possible scenario.

“In recent months, we have increasingly mastered the crisis. Daimler has been able to maintain its financial flexibility and has intensified the actions taken to enhance efficiency, while pushing forward with the development of new products and markets. We are now very well positioned and can look with confidence to the coming year, which will remain challenging due to the still-difficult situation of automobile markets worldwide," Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management (CEO) of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars.

"Mercedes-Benz Cars assumes that business will continue to improve in the last quarter of the year. Sales impetus will be provided not only by the recently launched new E-Class models and the station wagon to be launched in November, but also by the new generation of the S-Class, which was launched at the end of June 2009," Daimler added in a release.

The passenger car division expects to post lower sales in 2009 compared to the prior year but deliveries will reach similar levels if taking into account the significant growth posted by emerging markets such as China.