DaimlerChrysler Profit Up 14% in Quarter

DaimlerChrysler said Tuesday its third-quarter profit rose 14%, beating expectations, on strong sales of Mercedes-Benz cars and Chrysler sedans and light trucks.

The auto maker posted operating earnings of $1.6 billion, or $1.61 a share, up from $1.4 billion, or $1.45, a year ago. Analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial had expected $1.40 a share. Sales grew 15% to $38.56 billion.

“These results clearly illustrate sustained momentum across our automotive businesses, thanks to a very attractive range of products and services,” said DaimlerChrysler Co-Chairmen Robert Eaton and Juergen Schrempp.

With its $36-billion acquisition of Chrysler Corp. last year, Daimler-Benz added Chrysler, Plymouth and Dodge cars as well as the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Ram pickups to its Mercedes-Benz luxury-car line. It says it’s achieving savings of more than $1.06 billion a year and expects profit to grow faster than sales.

Eaton offered a bullish outlook for the fourth quarter, saying the auto maker should outperform the auto industry as operating profit grows faster than revenue.

At Chrysler, operating profit rose 11% as sales jumped 19% to a record $16.14 billion. Jeep Cherokee shipments more than doubled and Dodge Ram pickup shipments rose 18%.

In the passenger-car unit for Mercedes and Smart, a compact car available only in Europe, operating profit jumped 40%.

DaimlerChrysler’s aerospace, financial services and commercial vehicle units saw profits rise 30%, 7% and 1%, respectively.

Daimler’s profit performance matched the trend set earlier in October when General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. reported record third-quarter results.

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Bloomberg News and Reuters were used in compiling this report.