Daimler’s first-quarter earnings beat market expectations on prices, China By Reuters

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – German cars and trucks maker Daimler saw a better-than-expected surge in first-quarter operating profit on higher vehicle prices and strong demand in China.

Daimler, which this week unveiled an electric version of its flagship Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan, said early on Friday that quarterly adjusted group earnings before interest and tax jumped to 5.0 billion euros ($6 billion) from 719 million a year earlier.

That was above average analyst expectations of 4 billion euros, prompting it to release key figures ahead of schedule, it said.

“Favourable sales momentum at Mercedes-Benz Cars driven by all major regions, especially China, strongly supported the product mix and pricing in the first quarter 2021,” Daimler said in an unscheduled statement.

It is due to release detailed quarterly results on April 23.

($1 = 0.8355 euros)