(MENAFN- AFP) German auto giant Daimler, maker of Mercedes-Benz and Smart cars, Wednesday reported a sharp rise in second-quarter underlying profit driven by record sales in its luxury car division.
Daimler's earnings before interest and taxes, or Ebit, from ongoing business rose 12 percent from a year earlier to 2.46 billion euros ($3.3 billion).
This was above analysts' expectations of a nine-percent rise, according to a poll by Dow Jones Newswires.
Group revenue rose six percent to 31.5 billion euros, while sales rose four percent to a new record of almost 628,900 vehicles.
"We are growing profitably, our strategy is bearing fruit. We are steadily continuing along our path," said chief executive and chairman Dieter Zetsche in a statement.
The group confirmed its growth forecast for the full year 2014, with a rise in unit sales, revenues and earnings before interest and taxes from ongoing business.
Between April and June the group, which also makes trucks and buses, also posted net profit attributable to shareholders of 2.1 billion euros.
This was down from 2.8 billion euros a year earlier, a figure that had been inflated by Daimler's sale in 2013 of its share in European aerospace group EADS, now Airbus Group.
Shares fell 0.76 percent to 65.59 euros in Frankfurt, compared to a 0.25 rise in the exchange's main index.
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