Daimler Q1 Profit Surges

German company Daimler AG DDAIY reported a strong rise in its net profit for the first quarter. Daimler's quarterly net profit surged to 1.96 billion euros ($2.13 billion), versus a year-ago profit of EUR1.09 billion. Its revenue climbed 16 percent to EUR34.2 billion. Its adjusted group earnings before interest and tax climbed to 2.93 billion euros (2.09 billion pounds) in the quarter, versus 2.07 billion euros in the year-ago quarter. EBIT at the Mercedes-Benz Cars division climbed 56 percent to 1.84 billion euros, while the return on sales increased to 9.2 percent versus 7 percent. EBIT at the Daimler Trucks unit jumped 38 percent to 472 million euros, while the return on sales widened to 5.6 percent versus 4.8 percent. Daimler sold 641,600 cars and commercial vehicles, a 13 percent rise versus the year-ago period. Daimler shares rose 2.92 percent to close at $97.26 yesterday.