Our reporters Yin Limei and Tong Haihua report from Beijing
Daimler Trucks Holding AG (hereinafter referred to as "Daimler Trucks"), the inventor of trucks and one of the world's largest commercial vehicle manufacturers, recently disclosed its financial results for the first quarter of 2024.
The reporter of "China Business Daily" learned that during the reporting period, the group's revenue reached 13.3 billion euros (about 103.509 billion yuan), almost the same as the same period last year, adjusted EBIT was 1.21 billion euros (about 9.419 billion yuan), 1.16 billion euros (about 9.03 billion yuan) in the same period last year, a slight increase, and net profit was 847 million euros (about 6.593 billion yuan), a year-on-year increase of 7%. In the first quarter of 2024, Daimler trucks sold a total of 108911 trucks, down 13% year-on-year.
"We got off to a good start in 2024 and achieved strong profitability despite declining volumes. The first quarter's performance clearly demonstrated that the company's EBIT and return on sales continued to grow at a solid pace as the market returned to normalcy. We are on track to achieve our full-year financial targets, but pressure is increasing in Europe. Our global team is confident that it will be focused and determined to achieve our full-year 2024 goals. Martin Daum, CEO of Daimler Trucks, said.
Daimler Trucks has set a full-year target of 490,000 to 510,000 units in 2024 and 526,000 units in 2023. Based on the target of 490,000 units, Daimler Trucks achieved 22.2% of its full-year sales target in the first quarter of 2024. Daimler Trucks said its full-year outlook remained unchanged.
Solid start
This year marks the third year that Daimler Trucks has been on the market. In December 2021, Daimler Trucks was listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange as an independent company.
As one of the world's largest commercial vehicle manufacturers and a publicly traded company, Daimler Trucks' profitability is in the spotlight.
The reporter learned that in the first quarter of 2024, despite the decline in the group's sales, Daimler trucks continued to maintain a relatively strong profitability under the gradual normalization of the market.
During the reporting period, the Group's revenue reached 13.3 billion euros (about 103.509 billion yuan), compared with 13.2 billion euros (about 102.74 billion yuan) in the same period last year, adjusted EBIT of 1.21 billion euros (about 9.419 billion yuan), compared with 1.16 billion euros (about 9.03 billion yuan) in the same period last year, and the adjusted return on sales of real business increased to 9.3%, compared with 8.8% in the same period last year. net profit was 847 million euros (about 6.593 billion yuan), compared with 795 million euros (about 6.19 billion yuan) in the same period last year, a year-on-year increase of 7%; The free cash flow of the real business increased significantly to 1.213 billion euros (about 9.44 billion yuan), compared with 168 million euros (about 1.308 billion yuan) in the same period last year. Daimler Trucks said that the main reason for the increase in free cash flow was "a significant decrease in accounts receivable due to customer payment timing in the first quarter of 2024"; In terms of physical business, adjusted EBIT was 1.16 billion euros (about 9.029 billion yuan), slightly higher than 1.11 billion euros (about 8.64 billion yuan) in the same period last year.
In the first quarter of 2024, the Group sold a total of 108911 vehicles, compared to 125172 units in the first quarter of 2023, a year-on-year decline of 13%, which was within Daimler Trucks' expectations.
In March this year, Daimler Trucks pointed out in its outlook for 2024 that Daimler Trucks expects the major truck market to return to normal levels in 2024 due to the still difficult economic situation and the lack of catch-up effect. The company has set a sales target of 490,000 to 510,000 units in 2024, which is more conservative than its 2023 sales target.
At that time, Daimler Trucks said that from the current point of view, the group's sales in the North American heavy-duty truck market are expected to be 280,000 to 320,000 units, a decrease of 16% to 3% compared with the previous year; Sales in the heavy-duty truck market in the EU30 are expected to be 260,000 to 300,000 units, down 24% to 12% year-on-year.
Achieving consistent profitability is one of Daimler Trucks' key concerns. Looking forward to 2024, the group expects entity business revenue to be 52 billion euros (about 404.79 billion yuan) to 54 billion euros (about 420.36 billion yuan), and the overall revenue will be 55 billion euros (about 428.104 billion yuan) to 57 billion euros (about 443.67 billion yuan), and the adjusted EBIT is expected to be the same as last year. The adjusted margin of the real business is expected to be between 9.0% and 10.5%. Daimler Trucks expects a modest increase in free cash flow from its physical operations in 2024.
Daimler Trucks wants to embark on a transformation path for sustainable growth. Dumo has previously said that management is ready to take Daimler Trucks to a higher level of growth in 2030 – achieving an adjusted return on sales of more than 12% in the physical business under favorable conditions.
Implementing the "Dual-Track Strategy"
At present, the global commercial vehicle industry is undergoing a green transformation. The reporter learned that in the first quarter of 2024, Daimler trucks' pure electric vehicle sales increased by 183% year-on-year to 813, compared with 287 in the first quarter of 2023.
Daimler Trucks is one of the first commercial vehicle companies in the industry to make the transition. In 2023, Daimler Trucks expanded its global product portfolio to 10 different zero-emission models. In North America, the new all-electric Freightliner eM2 was launched for urban delivery. In Europe, the Mercedes-Benz eActros600 electric long-haul truck made its world premiere. Daimler Trucks' Asian subsidiary, FUS0, has delivered the first batch of the FUS0's next-generation eCanter to high-profile customers, including Japanese retail giant Yamato. In China, the Mercedes-Benz Arocs 4863 8x8 SLT bulky transporter made its debut in China. IN THE U.S., DAIMLER TRUCKS LAUNCHED THE RIZON, AN ALL-ELECTRIC TRUCK BRAND.
At the same time, in 2023, Daimler's fuel cell truck Mercedes-Benz GenH2 successfully drove 1,047 kilometers with a single refill of liquid hydrogen, which is considered a record-breaking journey, which also symbolizes a new milestone in Daimler Trucks' "dual-track strategy" to provide customers with pure electric and hydrogen-powered trucks.
In addition, with the Mercedes-Benz eCitaro fuel cell, Daimler Bus will launch its first mass-produced electric bus equipped with a fuel cell range extender in 2023, achieving a long range and high passenger capacity.
Daimler Trucks told reporters that relying on the "dual-track strategy", Daimler Trucks is making every effort to promote zero-emission transportation modes and help decarbonize the commercial vehicle industry, and has set a clear goal for this purpose: to achieve carbon-neutral transportation by 2050.
In 1896, Daimler Trucks invented a four-wheeled truck powered by mechanical power instead of horses, marking the birth of the world's first truck. It solved the problems of poor coverage of the railway network and the very limited speed and capacity of horse-drawn carriages, and opened a golden age of transportation.
After more than 120 years of development, Daimler Trucks has built a huge "business empire".
It is reported that at this stage, Daimler Trucks will divide its main business into five units: first, Daimler Trucks has truck brands Freightener, Western Star and school bus brand Thomas Bus in North America; SECOND, DAIMLER TRUCKS HAS COMMERCIAL VEHICLE BRANDS IN ASIA, SUCH AS FUSO, BHARAT-BENZ AND RIZON; Third, the Mercedes-Benz business unit has a truck brand of the same name; Fourth, Daimler Bus owns the Mercedes-Benz and Setra bus brands; Fifth, the newly established financial services business. The Truck segment includes light, medium and heavy-duty trucks for long-distance transportation, distribution and construction transportation, as well as special vehicles for municipal and functional departments. The products of the bus segment include city and intercity buses, school buses, buses and bus chassis. In addition to selling new and used commercial vehicles, Daimler Trucks also offers after-sales services and connectivity solutions.
(Editor: Zhang Shuo Review: Tong Haihua Proofreader: Yan Yuxia)