German luxury automaker Daimler on Friday again cut its profit outlook for 2018, warning that costs related to polluting diesel engines would drag down earnings.
The Mercedes-Benz maker, which this year had to recall more than 770,000 diesel cars across Europe, said it now expected earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to come in "significantly below" last year's figure. The group booked an EBIT of 14.3 billion euros ($16.4 billion) in 2017, and had originally expected to see results "slightly above" that this year.
But Daimler was already forced to trim its outlook for a first time four months ago, blaming new tariffs imposed on cars exported from the United States to China as part of President Donald Trump's festering trade spat with Beijing.
Daimler has now lowered its forecasts for a second time after becoming embroiled in the car industry's ongoing "dieselgate" scandal. In an ad-hoc statement, Daimler said the latest reassessment was partlydue to an "increase in expected expenses" related to "Mercedes-Benz diesel vehicles".
The diesel saga erupted in 2015 when German rival Volkswagen admitted toinstalling "defeat devices" in 11 million diesels worldwide designed to dupe emissions tests.
---AFP, Frankfurt
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