By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Daimler (OTC:DDAIF) shares rose 2.3% to their highest in over five years after the maker of Mercedes-Benz cars reported a vibrant first quarter thanks largely to the strength of the Chinese market.
The company credited high volume growth, a friendly product mix and right pricing for its performance. China, the German automaker’s biggest market, contributed the most when all regions reported strong growth, indicating robust demand in areas still clawing their way out of the pandemic.
According to preliminary estimates, Daimler Group’s operating profit for January-March came at 5.74 billion euros ($6.8 billion), comfortably above a consensus forecast of 4.96 billion. This was more then nine times the EBIT of 617 million euros recorded in the same quarter a year ago.
“The magnitude of the beat will likely lead to upgrades despite what looks like a challenging production environment for the industry in Q2,” analysts at Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) had said in a research note on Wednesday. The brokerage has a ‘buy’ on the stock with a €95 target, a near 22% rise from the stock’s current elevated levels.
The company will publish its full quarterly results on April 23.
There was more good news in store for the European automobile industry. New car registrations rose 63% in March, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association ACEA said. The gains erased an early-year decline to leave sales up 0.9% for the first quarter of 2021.