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Daimler AG said 2019 profit came in below expectations, as legal costs related to diesel-emissions allegations eat into margins at its Mercedes-Benz luxury car group.
Group earnings before interest and taxes fell by about half to 5.6 billion euros ($6.2 billion) for the year, the German manufacturer said Wednesday in a preliminary earnings statement. That’s before another 1.1 billion to 1.5 billion euros in legal and governmental costs in various markets where Mercedes-Benz diesel cars and vans are sold.
The company had a rough year in 2019, marked by several profit warnings related to trade tensions, tariffs and a general slowdown in the global automotive market, while production hiccups affected key SUVs. Daimler had to recall thousands of diesel cars in Germany even as the manufacturer insisted for years its engines complied with emission rules, and pushed back against allegations it used illegal defeat devices like Volkswagen AG did.
Daimler shares traded up 1.1% as of 9:27 a.m. local time in Frankfurt.
To contact the reporter on this story: Christoph Rauwald in Frankfurt at crauwald@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net, Andrew Blackman
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