00:00Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Capital Market Day, Mastering Transformation.
00:22Today we begin with our 2024 Annual Results Conference.
00:25We are very pleased that you are with us today, and I would like to start by introducing myself.
00:32My name is Christina Schenck, and I am Head of Investor Relations and Treasury.
00:37Good morning from me too.
00:40I am William Spelton, and I am Head of Corporate Communications at Mercedes-Benz.
00:45We will now begin with the Annual Results Conference for the first 30 minutes.
00:49This will then follow with Capital Market Day, Master Transformation, with an update on where we stand and where we want to go, naturally directed at analysts, investors, and media representatives.
01:01This means that our presentations will last a total of approximately 2 hours.
01:06You can follow our stream with simultaneous translation into German and Chinese.
01:10For those who are there, you can also access the dubbing.
01:15Channel 1 for German, 2 for English, and 3 for Chinese.
01:22Both Q&A sessions will also be broadcast on the website.
01:27You can also dial in digitally.
01:29We'll finish around noon today.
01:31We'll now begin the Annual Results Conference.
01:33We'd like to welcome our CEO Ola Kalinias and our CFO Harold Wilhelm.
01:55Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and a warm welcome to all those who have dialed in to the Annual Results Conference
02:02and the Capital Markets Day, and to all those who have dialed in digitally, of course.
02:08And a warm welcome to everyone in the room.
02:11We'd like to start by presenting the figures for 2024 and then tell you a little bit about the future,
02:17the future of this company, what's happening in the industry,
02:20and what Mercedes-Benz is doing to prepare for a future of prosperity.
02:25That's essentially what we're talking about today.
02:27But let's start with the figures for 2024.
02:34Everyone knows that 2024 was another exciting year in the automotive industry,
02:39but also a year defined by macroeconomic challenges and very difficult market conditions.
02:47How did we do this year?
02:49Is of course the first question.
02:50Yes, given the market conditions we encountered, particularly in China in the second half of the year,
02:57we can say, yes, of course this had a negative impact on our earnings situation and also on our profit situation.
03:06But in this context, the mere fact that we managed to generate 9.2 billion euros in free cash flow
03:12shows that this is a company with a very, very solid foundation.
03:22And despite the fact that we are paying out around 10 billion euros to shareholders via dividends and share buybacks,
03:28we still have net liquidity of 35 billion euros.
03:31This means that the company's foundation and balance sheet are very strong and solid,
03:42which will of course be an advantage in the coming years,
03:45when market conditions are likely to continue to be challenging.
03:50So what is happening at Mercedes-Benz cars?
03:53At Mercedes-Benz cars, for those who were there yesterday,
03:57you naturally got a short presentation about the G-Class.
04:00And of course we have these iconic vehicles,
04:05and it was a really great event here too,
04:08to present the old and new G and of course also to present the electric version of the G-Class,
04:13which is now of great interest to customers.
04:18A perfect car for the adventurous among us too.
04:21Now also available with zero emotions.
04:25Yes, but what is very important is that we have laid the foundation for this update for the future.
04:30Marcus Schaefer is also here with us today.
04:34He is head of research and development and his teams in production and research and development.
04:42They are preparing for what will be the biggest product offensive in the history of this company.
04:46And we may not have had as many product launches in 2024.
04:52But that does not mean that it was a slow year.
04:56It was probably one of the busiest years we have ever had and we are now basically on the accelerator and ready to take the next big step.
05:03Yes, with regard to sales,
05:09I've already said that we and others were confronted with a Chinese market where customer sentiment was somewhat weakened.
05:17And that naturally also affected some segments.
05:20We successfully defended our market share and in many cases even increased our market share.
05:30So we still had to face up to this confrontation and we're looking at how the 2055-25 develops
05:36and how we can defend this strong position in the top end and how we can build on it over the next few years.
05:41Yes, in the area of XCVs, if we look at the BEFs and the XVs, the premium market,
05:55then you can see very, very quickly that in the segments in which we have our first generation of electric vehicles,
06:02so the E&S class, both in sedans and SUVs in both markets,
06:06there is more C's Benz, which is the leading provider of electric vehicles in these segments.
06:11And despite all these market fluctuations and all these difficulties,
06:21you obviously can't isolate yourself from them.
06:23We're trying to work carefully here too.
06:29But the largest segment for premium and luxury is the GLC and the equestrian.
06:36We don't have any offerings there today, but we'll be ready for next year.
06:41These are the products in the pipeline, and they'll be launched in 2026.
06:46That means we have to move through this phase.
06:50The plug-in hybrids are very successful.
06:53I believe we are one of the most successful providers of plug-in hybrids, and a large part of our offering is WLTP 100 kilometers and above.
07:05And we're also seeing a renaissance of the plug-in hybrid.
07:09And in this time, it's quite clear that the transformation to e-mobility will take a bit longer than some might have thought five years ago,
07:16and it will also be rather heterogeneous.
07:20And that you need this additional card, because it's a really strong card that you should have behind it.
07:26With regard to vans, commercial vehicles, they also had a very successful year.
07:32Profitability was once again above average.
07:35Matthias Geissen, who has now joined marketing and sales, said a few years ago,
07:45Well, we are a company that actually manages to achieve double-digit profit rates.
07:49And the mere fact that the commercial vehicle division creates it is remarkable that the events have achieved this,
08:00and we have done it more than once.
08:03And we don't just have that, we also have good pricing.
08:06Of course, that doesn't mean that we can just sit back.
08:09With the Vs, too, it looks like we are facing major changes.
08:13The cycles in this segment are simply longer,
08:19and we have now launched the biggest investment and product offensive in decades.
08:26We have the VEA, which is the architecture that will be launched next year,
08:30and then with the follow-on products the year after that.
08:34Yes, and of course we have to be vigilant here, too, when it comes to costs.
08:38If you make more money, you can't just sit back and relax.
08:41You need the same cost discipline.
08:44And one example of this is the following.
08:48For example, we have announced that we are adapting our production network.
08:55We are selling the production network in Argentina to a group of investors.
09:01We will then become contract manufacturers and we can use the unused capacity for other things.
09:07This means that here, too, the position, the fixed cost position, will be improved.
09:14But that does not mean that we can sit back and relax.
09:21In the market, too, you can see that things have normalized a bit and that here in this area,
09:26in this segment, there was a bit of pressure with regard to revenue and sales.
09:30But we are still the brand here in Europe.
09:37We also have a strong business in the USA and we have a niche business in China,
09:41which we believe we can expand further.
09:43For those of you who look after financial services, you know that the interest rate cycle comes before and after.
09:59And of course, you also have to factor in this interest element in your calculations.
10:02What is very important for financial services is the following.
10:11What does the new business cycle look like when it comes to new business?
10:17Is it profitable or is it under pressure?
10:21So that means that the 2024 results were perhaps not the best results for Mercedes-Benz mobility,
10:27but the profitability of new business looks healthy, stable and robust.
10:32That means that we are preparing for a new cycle and we will have to wait and see how interest rates develop.
10:42For example, if inflation remains low or perhaps continues to fall, etc.
10:48So here are also a few words of praise for the mobility team.
10:55Because they are, of course, the ones who work a bit in the background and don't have much to do with customers,
11:00but they have also developed charging solutions, for example.
11:06The PowerPoint presentation from a few years ago has now become reality.
11:12Through our own activities and through consortia,
11:14we are now building a charging network,
11:17a high-performance charging network,
11:19which is of course great for the cars,
11:21like the one on my left here, worldwide.
11:22I have already visited several in Europe and the United States
11:30and it feels really good when you drive a Mercedes
11:32because you can just plug in the car,
11:34charge it and off you go.
11:40And the message is of course very clear with a view to the future with this electric offensive.
11:45The message for customers is this.
11:46If you buy a car from Mercedes, you can also charge it.
11:52We have already prepared everything for you, so to speak,
11:55and with that I will hand over to Harold for Finance.
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