German car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz has made a weaker start to the year than expected due to problems in the supply chain and model changes.
Turnover in the first quarter fell by 4.4% to €35.9 billion ($37.4 billion), the Stuttgart-based company announced on Tuesday. Earnings before interest and taxes even fell by almost 30% to €3.86 billion euros.
Passenger cars, the company's most important division, saw its operating profit margin before interest and taxes adjusted for special effects slip sharply by 5.8 percentage points to 9.0%. The management around CEO Ola Källenius had already warned of a weak start.
The decline in sales and model changes in the lucrative top segment had a negative impact. At the end of the day, Mercedes posted a consolidated profit of €3.03 billion, around a quarter less than in the previous year. The car manufacturer confirmed its annual forecasts.