Daimler Truck has posted a bigger-than-expected 40% drop in third-quarter operating profit and said full-year profit is expected towards the lower end of its forecast range, as the North American market was muted despite some recovery.
CFO Eva Scherer said in a conference call that adjusted operating profit is now expected at the lower end of the €3.6 billion to €4.1 billion range, with revenue at the midpoint.
Scherer confirmed the negative net impact of US import tariffs in 2025 to be in the low three-digit million euro range.
The company's adjusted earnings before interest and taxes came in at €716m for the quarter, missing the €729m expected in a company-compiled consensus.
Incoming orders of 93,923 units were at the previous year's level, backed by a positive momentum in Europe and a recovery in North America from very low levels in the second quarter, the company said in a statement.
European truck manufacturers were facing declining demand in North America due to weaker freight activity and market uncertainty caused by import tariffs.
Daimler Truck's Trucks North America segment saw a 64% drop in operating profit to €257m, but beat consensus expectations of €240m.
However, its Mercedes-Benz Trucks business achieved adjusted EBIT of €319m, missing consensus expectations of €329m.
Daimler Truck can achieve the 2030 carbon emission targets, but cannot influence the availability of infrastructure, its CFO said.
"When the infrastructure is not there, we should not be held accountable if we have done our homework as an industry and have invested billions of euros into our electric truck portfolio," Scherer said.
European truck manufacturers including Traton, Volvo and Daimler Truck have been urging the European Union to ease carbon emission regulations for the sector.
Scherer also said there had been no positive effects from the German fiscal stimulus package yet.
"Let's hope that in next year and the beginning of next year, we see a bit of movement there," she said.
The company saw moderate quarterly order intake momentum in Germany, while in France, the UK, Poland and Spain the order momentum was strong, Scherer said.
($1 = 0.8575 euros)
