The German luxury car maker said adjusted earnings before interest and taxes rose 8% to 4.94 billion euros.
The Mercedes-Benz automotive group reported a net profit of 6.8 billion euros in the first half of the year, up 3% year-on-year, on sales of 71.3 billion (+6%).
For the Mercedes-Benz car business, adjusted return on sales for the quarter was 14.2%, up from 12.8%. Sales were 487,100 vehicles in Q2 (vs. 521,200 vehicles in Q2 2021). Semiconductor shortages and other supply chain disruptions weighed on free cash flow from the industrial business, which fell 34% to €1.42 billion.
The group raised some of its 2022 targets based on the results, but also warned of “an exceptional degree of uncertainty” amid the war in Ukraine, inflation, the covid-19 pandemic and global supply chain issues.
“By focusing on top-of-the-line luxury cars, electric vehicles, premium minibuses and cost discipline, it has been possible to compensate for higher raw material prices and lower sales due to the shortage of semiconductors,” the group comments in a statement.
The German manufacturer has benefited from a “sustained” demand for its most luxurious models and for its premium vans.
Mercedes-Benz is “more resilient” in the face of “increasingly complex macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges,” advises the group’s boss, Ola Källenius, expressing his “optimism” in light of “strong customer demand around the world.”
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Featured photo : © Mercedes-Benz
