Mercedes 1998 Annual Report Download - page 24

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 24 of the 1998 Mercedes annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 126

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77
  • 78
  • 79
  • 80
  • 81
  • 82
  • 83
  • 84
  • 85
  • 86
  • 87
  • 88
  • 89
  • 90
  • 91
  • 92
  • 93
  • 94
  • 95
  • 96
  • 97
  • 98
  • 99
  • 100
  • 101
  • 102
  • 103
  • 104
  • 105
  • 106
  • 107
  • 108
  • 109
  • 110
  • 111
  • 112
  • 113
  • 114
  • 115
  • 116
  • 117
  • 118
  • 119
  • 120
  • 121
  • 122
  • 123
  • 124
  • 125
  • 126

BUSINESS REVIEW
20
Revenues
in Millions
97
€
98
€
98
US $
8,155
1,995
3,920
832
285
326
797
DaimlerChrysler
Passenger Cars
(Mercedes-Benz, smart)
Passenger Cars & Trucks
(Chrysler, Plymouth, Jeep®, Dodge)
Commercial Vehicles
(Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner,
Sterling, Setra)
Services
Aerospace
Others
8,051
1,885
4,501
601
193
255
635
9,568
2,341
4,599
976
334
382
935
131,782
32,587
56,340
23,162
2,877
9,573
8,770
3,426
117,572
27,555
51,942
20,012
2,443
7,924
7,816
3,896
154,615
38,234
66,101
27,175
3,376
11,232
10,290
4,019
DaimlerChrysler
Passenger Cars
(Mercedes-Benz, smart)
Passenger Cars & Trucks
(Chrysler, Plymouth, Jeep®, Dodge)
Commercial Vehicles
(Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner,
Sterling, Setra)
Chrysler Financial Services
Services
Aerospace
Others
SERVICES DIVISION RESTRUCTURED.
Only a short time after the
merger of Daimler-Benz AG into DaimlerChrysler AG was
recorded in the Commercial Register on December 21, 1998, as
the conclusive legal act of the business combination, we
restructured our services business. In January 1999, we
announced that DaimlerChrysler would bring together its
worldwide financial services business under the roof of
DaimlerChrysler Services (debis) AG in Berlin. The integration
of Chrysler Financial Company L.L.C. and the Financial Services
(debis) business unit created the fourth-largest provider of
financial services in the world outside of the banking and
insurance sectors, with a contract volume totaling more than
€ 70 billion.
Also in January, we announced along with our partner Metro
that in the spring of 1999 we would place at least 20 percent of
the share capital of debitel
on the stock exchange. Equal
numbers of shares will be offered by Metro and debis. Debitel
is the largest network-independent telephone company in
Europe. Even after listing on the stock exchange, debis will
remain the largest shareholder in debitel.
PORTFOLIO SELECTIVELY IMPROVED.
We also improved our
business portfolio relating to earnings and risk factors in 1998
in order to strengthen the competitiveness and earning power
of our business units.
On October 31, 1998, we acquired the shares in Micro Compact
Car (MCC) AG of Biel (Switzerland) held by the Swatch Group
AG in the amount of 19% with a view to better maximizing the
strategic opportunities of the smart brand as one of the six
passenger automobile brands of DaimlerChrysler. As a result,
MCC is now a 100 percent subsidiary of DaimlerChrysler.
We further expanded our position in the North American
market for medium and heavy-duty commercial vehicles with
the acquisition of the Thomas Built Buses Corporation, with
headquarters in North Carolina in the United States.
During the year under review, our Aerospace Division Dasa
acquired the defense electronic business of Siemens and
thereby decidedly strengthened its position in the European
defense industry. Moreover, the Franco-British Matra BAE
Dynamics has had a 30% participating interest in LKF GmbH
since early 1998. This constitutes an important step forward in
the Europeanization of our defense technology.
On the road toward the creation of European structures in the
aerospace industry, we have agreed with the British GEC, the
French Lagardère Group, and Finmeccanica to bring together
the space operations activities.
In January 1999, we agreed that DaimlerChrysler would
acquire the share of ABB in the 50/50 Adtranz joint venture at
a price of US $ 472 million. By fully integrating this company,
which is a global leader in railroad technology, in our business
portfolio and our overall business strategy, we will be able to
forge a more deliberate and rapid restructuring of Adtranz.
MORE THAN 19,000 NEW JOBS. In 1998, adjusted for changes in
the consolidated group, we were able to create 19,000 new jobs
due to positive business trends in all areas of DaimlerChrysler.
The number of employees rose to 441,502. The Service Division
employed almost 5,000 people more than at the end of 1997.
Additional personnel were also needed in the vehicle business
and in the Aerospace Division to handle increased demand.
The number of employees rose by 7,764 to 233,030 in Germany
and by 5,785 to 117,048 in the United States.
VALUE-ADDING PARTNERSHIPS EXPANDED. DaimlerChrysler
purchased goods and services worth € 79.6 billion in 1998
(1997: € 75.8 billion).
In accordance with our philosophy of integrated value-adding
partnerships, cooperation with our suppliers continued to
intensify and great successes were also achieved in numerous
product and investment projects. The TANDEM and the SCORE
programs – similar in their approach - were combined in the
Investment in Property,
Plant and Equipment
in Millions
97
€
98
€
98
US $