Traton Raises Profitability Guidance for 2023, Reports Strong Earnings

Traton, the German truck and bus subsidiary of Volkswagen, has announced an increase in its profitability guidance for 2023. This comes after the company reported significant earnings growth in the first nine months of the year, driven by higher revenue and improved margins.

Revised Profit Margin Forecast

Traton now expects a full-year adjusted operating profit margin of between 7.5% and 8.5%, surpassing its previous forecast of 7%-8%. The upward revision is mainly attributed to the company’s operations business, where the adjusted operating margin is now forecasted to range from 8% to 9%, compared to the previous target of 7.5% to 8.5%. Additionally, Traton has raised its expectations for cash generation from its operations.

Impressive Performance

In the first nine months of this year, Traton’s operating profit soared to 2.695 billion euros ($2.85 billion) from EUR609 million in the same period last year. Furthermore, adjusted operating profit more than doubled to EUR2.93 billion, accompanied by an expanded adjusted operating margin of 8.6%, up from 4.7%.

Revenue Growth and Order Decline

Traton reported a 20% increase in revenue for the first nine months, which reached EUR34.18 billion. However, incoming orders declined by 26% to 189,611 vehicles.