MUNICH (dpa-AFX) - After a decent third quarter, VW's commercial vehicle holding company Traton expects a better profit development in the current business for the full year than before. However, the order situation in the economic downturn is a growing concern, especially in Europe. In a conference call on Wednesday, CEO Christian Levin even described the receipt of orders for electric trucks as "not satisfactory." Scania, the pearl of returns, also fared less well than experts had expected. The SDax-listed stock fell sharply despite the upgraded annual forecast.

Analysts had already expected the operating margin for this year to be in the upper half of the raised forecast. Comments surrounding the situation for the European business could also weigh, UBS analyst Hemal Bhundia wrote. Traton's share price slipped four percent to 17.15 euros in the morning. Although the paper has thus still gained a good fifth in value since the beginning of the year. However, at its high in May, the share was worth up to 21.44 euros.

Operating profit adjusted for special items is now expected to account for 7.5 to 8.5 percent of sales in 2023, the truck and bus supplier announced in Munich. Previously, only 7 to 8 percent was in CEO Levin's plan. Traton is also becoming more optimistic about cash inflow (net cash flow) in day-to-day operations. Management is maintaining its sales volume and revenue outlook.

In the first nine months, Traton's MAN, Scania, Navistar and VW Truck & Bus (South America) brands sold 15 percent more, or 249,475 vehicles. Sales increased by one fifth to 34.2 billion euros. Operating profit adjusted for special items rose to 2.93 billion euros - more than double the previous year's figure. The corresponding margin was 8.6 percent, above the new target range for the full year. Profit after tax attributable to shareholders almost tripled to 1.94 billion euros.

In the third quarter, the Swedish Scania brand, which accounts for the Lowen share of sales and earnings at Traton, achieved an adjusted operating margin of 11.5 percent. That was less than in the previous two quarters and less than experts had expected, Levin acknowledged. By contrast, MAN, the German brand that has long been chronically weak and whose medium-duty trucks are its biggest sales driver, again posted a significant year-on-year increase in adjusted margin and also did slightly better than in the previous quarter. Traton had initiated a cost-saving program in the division.

The Group's order intake continued to decline, with orders falling by a good quarter to 189,611 vehicles. In the year to date, Traton had mainly referred to cautious order intake because the order backlog was high. This also continues to apply to the North America region, it said.

For the home continent, however, the Group now spoke more clearly of a "normalization" of demand. The reasons for this are the uncertain economic development and more difficult financing conditions. Traton has expanded its footprint in North America, the world's most important heavy-duty market, with the acquisition of the U.S. truck brand Navistar, but still has a stronger weight in Europe.

Orders for electric trucks are still "not satisfactory," Levin said in a conference call. The group received 649 total orders for electric vehicles in the third quarter. In addition, he said, the group has had problems getting battery cells from VW's Swedish affiliate Northvolt.

Traton is also relying more heavily than rival Daimler Truck, for example, on battery-electric trucks for heavy-duty transport in the future, while the Swabians are comparatively more involved in the development of hydrogen drives for long-distance travel.

"Our products are ready for the market, our factories are being made fit for the ramp-up of e-mobility," Levin said. "Now we need a rapid expansion of the charging infrastructure and green energy - and for that we need the full support of the administration and politicians."/men/mne/mis