Mercedes-Benz Group beat analysts’ estimate with annual earnings of 20.5 billion euros (US$21.80 billion) and a stronger revenue, the premium car maker said on Friday, but warned of lower earnings this year due to economic uncertainty.
The carmaker, one of the few German companies to stick to its 2022 targets and even raise its profit forecast last October despite the unstable environment, hit its forecast of a 13%-15% adjusted return on sales in the cars division, reporting a 14.6% margin, Reuters cited.
Still, the company forecast a lower adjusted return of 12%-14% on sales for the cars division in 2023 and group earnings slightly below 2022, even with Mercedes-Benz Cars unit sales expected at the same level.
Mercedes-Benz said it will also propose a dividend of 5.20 euros per share, up from five euros last year, amounting to a total payout of 5.6 billion euros.
Incoming orders were sluggish in Europe, and sales in the Chinese market were tepid due to the Covid-19 restrictions in the fourth quarter, the company said in a statement, adding that demand in the United States was still strong.
Still, top-end vehicle sales, which saw particularly strong growth in 2022 and helped the carmaker overcome rising costs, are expected to rise slightly this year.
The company’s fourth-quarter earnings came in at 5.4 billion euros, above estimates of analysts polled by Refinitiv of five billion euros.
The company, which committed on Thursday to buy back up to four billion euros in shares by 2025, reported an adjusted free cashflow in its industrial business of 9.29 billion euros, down 8% from last year.
