Daimler profits hit by Smart

FRANKFURT: DaimlerChrysler AG chief Juergen Schrempp said on Saturday that profits at its Mercedes-Benz cars unit took a hit in the first quarter from its troubled Smart mini-car. Schrempp said he was optimistic about the future of the two-seater Smart but said he would know where DaimlerChrysler stood with the ultra-small auto by year-end, he told the newspaper Welt Am Sonntag in an interview to appear Sunday.

quot;Without Smart, the Mercedes results would have really been brilliant,quot; he said. quot;I don8217;t feel inhibited from admitting that we haven8217;t yet reached a stable position with Smart. But I do believe in the concept and the whole management board stands behind it,quot; Schrempp told the newspaper. On Wednesday, DaimlerChrysler, formed last year in a 42 billion transatlantic merger between Germany8217;s Daimler-Benz AG and US-based Chrysler Corp, said its operating profit in the first quarter rose 16 per cent to 2.774 billion euros 2.94 billion. Its second-largest division, Passenger Cars Mercedes-BenzandSmart, lifted operating profit by four per cent to 531 million euros after sales climbed 13 per cent to 8.44 billion euros, the firm said.