FRANKFURT -- Daimler AG posted an 80% drop in third-quarter net profit, but rebounded from two quarters of losses as sales at its core Mercedes-Benz division improved.
The Stuttgart-based car maker said third-quarter net profit was €41 million ($60.9 million), down from €200 million in the year-earlier period. The company posted a loss of €1.32 billion in the first quarter and of €1.02 billion in the second.
"We are now very well positioned and can look with confidence to the coming year, which will remain challenging due to the still-difficult situation of automobile markets worldwide," Daimler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche said in a statement.
Daimler Oct. 19 announced that earnings and cash flow in the third quarter were better than analysts had expected, leading it to release preliminary key earnings figures ahead of schedule.
Daimler's closely watched earnings before interest and tax, or EBIT, fell to €470 million in the third quarter, while revenue skidded to €19.3 billion. In 2008, Daimler posted €648 million in third-quarter EBIT and €24.47 billion in revenue.
The company recognized a €48 million gain on the valuation of Chrysler related assets, while it booked a €3 million charge in the third quarter for the restructuring of Daimler's truck unit in North America/Japan.
Earlier this year, Daimler sold its remaining 19.9% stake in Chrysler LLC to Cerberus Capital Management LP.
Daimler's closely watched net liquidity stood at around €6.7 billion at the end of the third quarter compared with €4.6 billion at the end of June.
The company's Mercedes-Benz Cars division, which comprises the Mercedes-Benz, Smart and Maybach brands, swung back into the black and posted €355 million in third-quarter EBIT after posting a €1.46 billion loss in the first half of the year.
Daimler's truck unit, the world's largest truck maker by sales, posted an EBIT loss of €127 million in the third quarter.
The Mercedes-Benz vans unit eked out a €1 million profit, with the company's bus operations contributing €23 million to the group's EBIT. Daimler's financial services unit's EBIT came in at €101 million.
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