DaimlerChrysler reported that its net income more than tripled during the third quarter because of aggressive cost-cutting,
according to Bloomberg and the New York Times.
DaimlerChrysler said it earned $881 million during the quarter, after adjustments for one-time costs, compared with $281 million for the period a year earlier. That was well above analysts' expectations of about $800 million for the quarter.
As a result, DaimlerChrysler said it was raising its profit forecast for the full year to about $5 billion, a target that analysts said the company could easily meet, given that it earned $4.6 billion during the first three quarters of 2002.
DaimlerChrysler is the parent company for Freightliner Corp., which manufactures Freightliner, Sterling and Western Star trucks in the United States.
But during a conference call with journalists and analysts, conducted from the company's headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, Chief Financial Officer Manfred Gentz said he expected overall sales in the United States to drop significantly during the coming year, possibly below 16 million vehicles.
By contrast, auto companies will sell about 17 million vehicles this year, thanks in large part to wide-ranging incentive programs. But Gentz noted that sales had already softened this fall and said he expected the trend to continue.
He said Chrysler had an operating profit of $321 million, in contrast to a loss of $264 million in the quarter a year ago. The Chrysler performance helped to offset a 2% decline in operating profit at Mercedes-Benz, which earned $782 million during the third quarter.
Gentz said DaimlerChrysler's revenue grew 1%, to $35.5 billion, during the quarter. For the first nine months of the year, revenue was flat at $111 billion.
He said the company would decide at the end of the year how it would finance a shortfall in its North American pension plan, which includes not only workers at Chrysler but also those at Freightliner, its heavy-truck operation in Portland, Ore., and at the Mercedes-Benz North American operations. The $3 billion is far less than pension liabilities at Ford, with $6.5 billion, and GM, where the pension liability could grow to $20 billion by the end of the year.