Daimler’s truck and bus division reports van and truck sales up but buses struggling
Daimler has unveiled record van sales in its finalised 2015 figures announced overnight, backed by a decade-high for the truck division.
Driven by high levels of growth for the V-Class and the Vito, Daimler says the Mercedes-Benz van-arm increased its unit sales by nine per cent year-on-year to 321,000, a record high.
The division’s revenue also jumped, increasing €1.5 billion (A$2.33 billion) to €11.5 billion (A$17.9 billion) and its earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose by 32 per cent to €900 million (A$1,400 million).
As announced earlier this year, the Daimler’s truck sales numbers grew one per cent during the year to 502,500 vehicles.
Passing the half-a-million milestone for the first time since 2006 on the back of unit sales in the North American and European markets, the trucking arm grew its revenue by 16 per cent and its EBIT by 37 per cent to €37.6 billion (A$58.51 billion) and €2,576 million (A$4,007 million), respectively.
However, the positive sweep of Daimler’s truck and bus division has been hampered by declining bus numbers in 2015.
The division saw a dip from 33,200 units to 28,100 in 2015, figures that Daimler says is the results of the declining situation in Brazil.
While revenue fell €0.1 billion to €4.1 billion (A$6.38 billion) during the year, there was some positive news for the division with its EBIT jumping nine per cent to €214 million (A$333.02 million).
In its look towards 2016, Daimler predicts a steady truck sales market, with possibly a slight dip in medium- and heavy-duty truck sales, but a slight rise for light-duty models.
Van sales are expected to rise significantly during the year thanks to demand in Europe, who, Daimler think, will also look towards buses.
However, the company says poor numbers out of Latin America will continue keep the global bus numbers at a steady level.
In total terms, Daimler saw a 12 per cent growth in unit sales on 2014, headlined by the car division (up 16 per cent) and the van division.
Revenue grew for the German giant to €149.5 billion (A$232.64 billion) for the 12 month period, a nine per cent rise when adjusted for exchange-rate effects.
The dividend afforded to shareholders will rise to €3.25 (A$5.06) per share by the annual shareholders meeting on April 6.