Mercedes 2008 Annual Report Download - page 44

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Daimler sold 2.1 million vehicles in a difficult environment in
2008 (2007: 2.1 million vehicles). Revenue decreased by 4%
to €95.9 billion, operating profit (EBIT) was down to €2.7 billion
(2007: €8.7 billion) and net profit fell to €1.4 billion (2007:
€4.0 billion). The main reasons for the lower earnings were
not only the dramatic effects on automotive markets of the
worldwide financial and economic crisis, but also the very
high level of raw-material prices on average over the year, weak
currencies and charges relating to Chrysler. In order to improve
our earnings situation once again, we continued and intensified
our efficiency-enhancing actions. The year 2009 will also be
extremely difficult for Daimler, but we have a good starting
position due to our efforts in recent years: Daimler has strong
brands, exciting products, the right technologies and a sound
financial basis. These are the best preconditions for us to
successfully meet the challenges ahead.