BERLIN (Reuters) -Daimler Truck will spin off from Daimler on Dec. 10, the commercial vehicle maker said on Thursday, forecasting a 2021 return on sales of 6-8% and a double-digit percentage by 2025.
A planned fixed cost reduction of 15% from 2019 levels by 2025 is progressing faster than planned and will likely be achieved by 2023, Daimler Truck said in a statement at the opening of its capital markets day.
Daimler’s shareholders voted in October in favour of spinning off the truck and bus division, set to become the world’s largest truckmaker but with lower profit margins than rivals such as Traton’s Scania and Volvo Group’s Volvo Trucks.
It is particularly behind in Europe, saying at a previous strategy day in May that increasing its market share in the region – which stood at 20% in 2019, compared to 28% in North America and 32% in Brazil in 2020 – was a high priority.
Still, Daimler Truck said on Thursday it expected a global adjusted return on sales of 7% to 9% in 2022, after Daimler said in late October it expected the truck market to recover from the impact of the pandemic and supply chain shortages.
The aim remains to reach a double-digit profit margin by 2025, it said, with Asia reaching 9% and North America, its strongest market, 12% by that date.
“We have a clear goal… we are determined to reach higher profitability and win the race to zero-emissions,” CEO Martin Daum said in a statement.
Daimler Truck said its adjusted return on sales so far this year was 10.8% in North America, 7.2% in Asia and 4.5% in Europe.
(Reporting by Victoria WalderseeEditing by Zuzanna Szymanska and Mark Potter)
