Mercedes-Benz Q2 earnings fall as car sales slip

German automotive giant Mercedes Benz posted a sharp fall in adjusted earnings in its car division during Q2 as it continues to struggle with model changeovers and weakened Asian trading.

Mercedes Benz said overall underlying earnings were down 19.1% at €4.03bn, with Q2 car sales down 27.5% at €27.2bn in the company's core division, worse than the 26% drop expected by analysts. Mercedes' vans unit pulled in €4.8bn and its mobility department recorded revenues of €6.3bn.

Revenues were down 3.9% year-on-year at €36.7bn, while net profits slid 15.9% to €3.0bn. Diluted earnings were 11.7% weaker at €2.95 per share.

Mercedes Benz also narrowed its adjusted return on sales guidance from 10-12% to 10-11% as the group continues to face lacklustre demand for electric vehicles, as well as extreme local competition in China, supply bottlenecks and persistently high interest rates.

As of 1200 BST, Mercedes Benz shares were up 0.27% at €63.13 each.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com