STUTTGART (Reuters) – Mercedes-Benz beat analysts’ estimates with an annual profit of 20.5 billion euros and higher sales, the German group said on Friday, although it warned of a decline in profits this year due to economic uncertainties.
The premium carmaker hit its forecast for an adjusted sales return of 13% to 15% in the auto division, reporting a 14.6% margin.
Mercedes-Benz still expects a 12-14% lower adjusted return on sales from the automotive division in 2023 and a slightly lower group profit than in 2022, even if Mercedes-Benz Cars unit sales are expected to remain at the bottom. same level.
The group said it would also propose a dividend of 5.20 euros per share, against 5 euros last year, for a total payment of 5.6 billion euros.
Order intake was weak in Europe, and sales in the Chinese market were tepid due to COVID-19 restrictions in the fourth quarter, the company said in a statement, adding that demand in the United States was weak. always strong.
Still, sales of premium vehicles, which saw particularly strong growth in 2022 and helped the automaker weather rising costs, are expected to edge up this year.
The company’s fourth-quarter profit came in at 5.4 billion euros, above the 5 billion euros estimated by analysts polled by Refinitiv.
Mercedes-Benz, which on Thursday pledged to repurchase up to 4 billion euros in shares by 2025, reported adjusted free cash flow in its industrials business of 9.29 billion euros, down 8% compared to last year.
(Report Victoria Waldersee, Augustin Turpin, edited by Kate Entringer)
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