Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler said Friday it was confident of reaching its objectives in 2018 even as it reported a significant slide in profits in the first quarter. Net profits at the Stuttgart-based group shrank 11.1 percent year-on-year between January and March, to 2.4 billion euros ($2.9 billion), in line with analysts' forecasts.
The world's biggest high-end carmaker - which also produces trucks and compact Smart cars - reported a record number of vehicles sold, at 807,000. Daimler's revenues increased 3.0 percent, to 39.8 billion euros. But operating, or underlying profit also saw a double-digit drop, falling 12 percent to 3.3 billion euros - although Daimler noted last year's figure was lifted by a one-off effect of 700 million euros.
The group is "sustainably continuing along our profitable growth course and sold more vehicles than ever," chief executive Dieter Zetsche said in a statement. "We aim to continue building on this" over the rest of the year, he added, with Daimler hoping to "slightly increase" total unit sales from the 3.3 million booked in 2017.