Daimler Chrysler
* DCX reports improving 3Q05 results: DCX reported improving 3Q05 consolidated results with revenues increasing 9.4% yoy to EUR38.2 billion and group operating profit increasing 38.0% to EUR1.8 billion. The increase in profits was driven by improvements at Mercedes, Chrysler, and Commercial Vehicles.
* Further improvement in profitability expected: We expect the company to show further improvement in profitability in coming quarters driven by new models, health care cost reductions, and cost efficiencies.
* Risks: Risks include aggressive industry pricing, high gas prices, and the potential for further restructuring charges.
* We change opinion to "Outperform" from "Market Perform": In light of our expectation for improvement in credit metrics we change the Credit Trend to "Improving" from "Stable" and our opinion to "Outperform" from "Market Perform". We rate DCX "BBB".
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