STUTTGART (dpa-AFX) - The economic downturn is not leaving carmaker Mercedes-Benz unscathed. In view of tough competition as well as parts shortages and rising costs, the Swabians are becoming somewhat more pessimistic for the full year in the passenger car division. The company was also unable to maintain the strong business figures from the same period last year in the third quarter. CFO Harald Wilhelm emphasized on Thursday the continued good order situation, which points in the right direction and also referred to his cautious optimism for the coming year. However, the share continued its recent weak run and fell.

The stock fell 5.3 percent to 58.13 euros after the start of trading at the end of the Dax, marking a low since November 2022. In June, the stock had been worth more than 76 euros at its high for the year.

JPMorgan analyst Jose Asumendi now spoke of a solid quarter in a difficult environment. However, he said that the van division in particular was absorbing weaknesses in passenger cars and in the division with financial services and mobility offerings. Market expectations for the passenger car business are now likely to fall, wrote expert Tom Narayan of Canadian bank RBC.

The return on sales in the car business, adjusted for special effects, is now expected to land in the lower half of the forecast range of 12 to 14 percent, according to the DAX-listed group. Previously, the company had held out the prospect of the upper half of the corridor. Management justified the new restraint with intensified price competition, particularly for electric cars, and supply restrictions for 48-volt electrical systems. In addition, inflation-related supplier costs are now estimated to be at a higher level than at the beginning of the year, it said.

In the vans business, however, full-year adjusted operating margin is expected to be at the high end of the targeted 13 to 15 percent. However, some analysts had also considered a renewed increase in targets for the Vans division possible. At the end of the year, higher costs for product ramp-ups were foreseeable for vans, Mercedes said.

As expected, the Group was unable to maintain its strong prior-year figures in view of the economic downturn in the third quarter. In the months from July to September, earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) adjusted for special effects fell by eight percent to 4.92 billion euros. The Stuttgart-based company also suffered losses on the bottom line, with net profit falling by seven percent to 3.72 billion euros.

However, the Swabian company's results were better than analysts had previously feared, even though the important passenger car division was less profitable than experts had estimated. Group sales shrank by 1.4 percent to 37.2 billion euros due to fewer cars sold. Management headed by Ola Källenius confirmed the overall outlook for the Group for the year. In a conference call, CFO Wilhelm expressed cautious optimism for the coming year - from today's perspective, sales in 2024 should not be below those of 2023, he said.

In the third quarter, passenger car sales at Mercedes had fallen by almost four percent to 510,564 cars. This was mainly due to declines in the particularly lucrative luxury cars and a significant drop in China. The average selling price in the Car Division remained stable compared to the prior-year period at 74,600 euros. The company continues to have a run with delivery vans, with which Mercedes was able to significantly increase profits from day-to-day business./men/ngu/mis