Daimler Truck announced on Tuesday evening that it had booked a provision in the second quarter for persistent weakness in its Asian business and was reviewing its annual targets, announcements that were greeted with little excitement on the stock market.

According to preliminary data, its adjusted operating income before non-recurring items (Ebit) came to €1,168 million in the quarter just ended, compared with a consensus figure of €1,259 million.259 million euros.

Excluding the impairment charge booked on its Chinese joint venture BFDA (Beijing Foton Daimler Automotive), the Group would nevertheless have exceeded market forecasts.

'The main lesson to be learned from this preliminary publication is, in our view, the glaring difference between the performance of Trucks North America and Mercedes-Benz', point out analysts at RBC.

The Canadian broker points out that the North American division posted adjusted operating income of 875 million euros and a margin of 14.5%, both ahead of consensus.

"By contrast, Mercedes-Benz's operating income of 299 million euros and margin of just 6.5% came in below expectations," says RBC.

Despite this disappointing result, Daimler Truck shares were up 0.8% on Thursday morning on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, one of the best performers on the DAX index.

'The Group's better-than-expected operating profit and impressive performance in North America more than offset the weaker-than-expected Mercedes-Benz results and the announcement of a non-cash provision', explained RBC.

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