At the car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz, profits collapse by more than half. The manufacturer is particularly weak in a central market.
Car maker Mercedes-Benz suffered a slump in profits in the third quarter due to weakness in the important Chinese market. Earnings before interest and taxes fell by almost half year-on-year to 2.52 billion euros, as the DAX group announced. The Stuttgart-based company only achieved an operating profit margin of 4.7 percent in the passenger car business, adjusted for special effects, compared to 12.4 percent a year earlier.
Mercedes boss Ola Källenius had already significantly lowered the group’s profit forecasts in September because the expensive models with the star in particular were not doing as well as expected in China. Sales fell by 6.7 percent to 34.5 billion euros in the third quarter. Group profits fell by over half to 1.72 billion euros.
Source: Stern
