The leaders of Daimler Truck Holding AG expect their record backlog and ongoing efficiency gains to improve the company’s performance well into 2023, with very strong demand for the company’s Freightliner and Western Star brands in North America prominently pitching in.
Daimler Truck’s North American business in 2021 posted sales of about $17.5 billion versus $15.4 billion the year before. Adjusted EBITDA was about $1.6 billion, up about 40% from the year before thanks both to rising sales – a little more than 162,000 units versus nearly 140,000 in 2020 – and higher prices. Globally, Daimler Truck earned adjusted EBITDA of about $2.8 billion on revenues of more than $44 billion.
For 2022, the Daimler team is forecasting North American unit sales of 175,000 to 195,000 and an adjusted return on equity of 10% to 12%. The company – which spun out of Daimler AG late last year – is pushing through a large price increase and may need to return to customers this year with another one if input costs continue to climb, Board Chairman Martin Daum said on a conference call with analysts. CFO Jochen Goetz added that only a minimal number of customers have adjusted their orders in response to price hikes, which he said is a sign of the very strong underlying demand for trucks.
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