Mercedes-Benz Raises Outlook After Higher Q2 Earnings

Mercedes-Benz expects a significant rise in revenues and slightly higher earnings in 2022 than last year, raising its outlook as the firm reported on Wednesday an 8 per cent jump in second-quarter adjusted earnings to 4.9 billion euros ($4.97 billion).

The luxury carmaker had previously said it expected only slightly higher revenues this year and earnings equal to last year.

Still, uncertainty due to the war in Ukraine, high inflation, interest rate rises, and the pandemic, particularly in China, could all weigh on the business, the carmaker warned.

However, order books were full and Mercedes-Benz Cars was expected to see a slight increase in sales, it said, with the top-end luxury segment forecast to grow more than 10 per cent.

Passenger car registrations in Europe have seen a 12-month decline as supply-chain troubles and rising prices weigh on sales, but luxury carmakers able to prioritise top-end vehicles have broadly proved more resilient as wealthier customers continued to spend.

The luxury carmaker saw an adjusted return on sales of 14.2 per cent in the Mercedes-Benz Cars division, up from 12.8 per cent in the same quarter last year, while returns in Vans fell slightly to 10.1 per cent from 11.4 per cent last year.

Looking forward, it raised its expected adjusted earnings margin for its Cars division in the second half to 12-14 per cent from 11.5-13 per cent previously.

The first half saw a 15 per cent margin but higher material costs, research and development spending and effects from the used car market could weigh on the second half.

Addressing concerns over how German industry will manage gas consumption in the event of further cuts to supply from Russia, Mercedes-Benz said it could reduce its intake in Germany by 50 per cent if regional pooling took place and had found a way to operate the paint shop in its Sindelfingen plant without gas in an emergency.

Source: Reuters