Mercedes-Benz’s passenger car division reported a 40.5% decrease in annual earnings on Thursday. The automaker also stated that it anticipates significantly lower earnings in 2025 as it works to enhance competitiveness and reduce costs.
After cutting guidance twice last year, the company expects 2025 sales to fall slightly below the previous year’s level. It projects an adjusted return on sales of only 6-8% for its cars division, compared to 8.1% in 2024.
In 2024, the group’s earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) dropped to 13.6 billion euros ($14.18 billion), and sales declined by 4.5% to 146 billion euros ($152.25 billion).
Later on Thursday, the luxury carmaker will unveil plans to refresh its model lineup and reduce production costs by 10% by 2027. Chief Executive Ola Kaellenius stated that this strategy aims to “ensure the company’s future competitiveness in an uncertain world.”
The company’s board will recommend a dividend of 4.30 euros per share, down from 5.30 euros in 2023.
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