Provide chain disruptions are inflicting a manufacturing backlog on the world’s largest truckmaker, Daimler Vans.
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Shares of Daimler Truck hit a contemporary all-time excessive Friday, spiking greater than 17%, after posting file full-year revenue and saying a 2 billion euro ($2.16 billion) share buyback program.
The German truck maker posted better-than-expected pretax earnings of 5.5 billion euros for 2023, up 39% on the earlier 12 months’s 4.4 billion euros. Analysts had anticipated EBIT (earnings earlier than earnings tax) of 5.2 billion euros.
Daimler Truck’s CEO, Martin Daum, informed CNBC that the corporate had beforehand suggested that its last outcomes can be on the higher finish of its forecasts following a “red-hot” 2023.
“If we are saying higher finish, we imply higher finish,” he informed CNBC’s Annette Weisbach.
In a press release, Daimler described 2023 as a file 12 months for the corporate, buoyed by extra demand following the availability chain constraints of 2022. But it surely cautioned that income and earnings have been prone to be flat in 2024 amid “troublesome financial circumstances.”
Daum mentioned value pressures would doubtless weigh on the corporate barely in 2024, however characterised the outlook as one in every of “sunny circumstances.”
“We’re going again to a very good 12 months,” he mentioned. “Normalization being again barely, however nonetheless on a very good stage.”
Daimler additionally mentioned it will conduct its buyback program over the course of the approaching 24 months and proposed a dividend of 1.9 euros per share for 2023, up from 1.3 euros the earlier 12 months. Daum mentioned the transfer was indicative of the well being of the corporate.
“We make investments so much,” he mentioned. “We are going to proceed in that tempo however we nonetheless can have leftover cash and that actually belongs to our shareholders.”
It follows related strikes by different car makers together with Mercedes and Common Motors, which additionally introduced share buybacks and elevated dividends over current months to return money to traders.
“That is what not simply our firm however usually wholesome well-financed corporations with a stable steadiness sheet can and can do,” he added.
