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Daimler warns about heavy spending on new car tech

Germany - German automaker Daimler made lots of money last year. That's a good thing, because the company says it will need to spend heavily this year to keep up with the technological change expected to disrupt the car industry.

The maker of Mercedes-Benz luxury cars said Thursday that its earnings this year faced the burden of "very high" expenditure on new models and technologies such as battery-powered cars. Like the rest of the industry, the company is positioning itself for an anticipated shift to autonomous driving and to transportation services such as car-sharing and ride-hailing through smartphone apps.

Based on that, the company issued a measured outlook for this year despite a record profit of €10.9-billion in 2017, saying that operating earnings would only be of "the magnitude of the previous year" instead of increasing.

Daimler AG said spending on research and development would increase slightly in 2018 after spending €8.7-billion in 2017, a rise of 15%.

The company's shares dipped on the earnings news and outlook, trading down 0.8% at €72.91 in morning trading in Europe.

CEO Dieter Zetsche's position is that the company's core business — selling gasoline and diesel-powered luxury cars with fat profit margins - is "very healthy and highly profitable" and can provide the investment cash needed to remain a leader as the industry changes rapidly.

For all of last year, net profit rose 24%, helped by strong sales of its Mercedes-Benz SUVs and the new version of its E-Class luxury sedan. Revenue rose 7% to €164.3-billion and management proposed its highest dividend to date, of €3.65 per share.

Earnings were driven by the Mercedes-Benz luxury car division, which increased sales by 8% to a record 2.37 million vehicles worldwide. The unit's revenue rose 6% to €94.7-billion, resulting in earnings before interest and taxes of €9.2-billion, up from €8.1 billion in 2016.

The company said it would pay profit-sharing of €5700 per worker for eligible employees, up from €5400.

The company's annual news conference in Stuttgart began with Zetsche condemning an experiment commissioned by an industry-backed entity in which monkeys were exposed to diluted diesel exhaust from a Volkswagen vehicle. The entity, known by its German abbreviation EUGT, was backed by Daimler, Volkswagen, BMW and parts and technology firm Bosch.

Zetsche said "such experiments are contrary to our values at Daimler" and said the company's role would be "thoroughly investigated." The company has said that its representative on the EUGT board has been suspended.

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