German luxury automaker, Daimler AG boss, Dieter Zetsche has expressed his concern about lack of female management power in his company. The outgoing Chief Executive Officer (CEO) said he hopes to have a woman take on his role when he retires next year.
The CEO of multinational car manufacturer Daimler AG, which owns Mercedes, Dieter Zetsche, said in an interview to be published in full on Thursday that he hopes the company can become more female-friendly in the future – both in terms of customers as well as in the boardroom.
Speaking with the weekly magazine “Die Bunte,” Zetsche admitted that women have not had “a sufficiently important role” in the company.
The 62-year-old also said he would “of course” like to see a woman follow him as CEO or chairman of the board when he departs the company. His current contract is up at the end of 2016.
“I would find it fantastic if it works out,” said Zetsche.
Currently the only woman on the board of management of the Stuttgart-based firm is legal expert, Dr. Christine Hohmann-Dennhardt.
In a somewhat odd effort to subvert stereotypes, Zetsche also praised women as being better drivers than men.
“To my mind, women are the more prudent car drivers. After all, around 80 percent of the perpetrators of traffic violations are men.”
Zetsche said Daimler factories sought to let female employees drive new cars off the production line – saying fewer were damaged as a result.
“I think women are not only very good drivers, but very good at parking as well.”
Record sales and profit
Daimler continued its successful run in 2014, setting new records for unit sales, revenue and earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) from the ongoing business, the Stuttgart-based automotive group reported on Thursday.
“We set new records once again in 2014 – for unit sales, revenue and earnings. This progress is the result of consistent hard work,” said Zetsche in a statement.
US and China drive demand
Strong demand in the US and China helped to boost unit sales by 8 percent, compared to 2013, to more than 2.5 million vehicles. The increase was primarily driven by its Mercedes-Benz brand which saw sales grow by 10 percent, fueled by a new version of its best-selling C-Class sedan.
Truck sales grew at a lower-than-expected rate of 2 percent, dampened by the weak economic situation in western Europe and Latin America.
Revenue rose by 12 percent to 129.9 billion euros ($147.82 billion), adjusted for exchange-rate effects, Daimler said, while EBIT from the ongoing business shot up by 27 percent to 10.1 billion euros – the highest ever achieved by the company.
Net profit dropped by 1.4 billion euros, to 7.3 billion euros from 8.7 billion the previous year. Still, the group’s full-year profit figures beat analyst estimates, factoring in a 29-percent year-on-year decline in the fourth quarter as management set aside 600 million euros for potential costs from a European Union anti-trust investigation of truck makers.
Profit-sharing
The record year led Daimler to announce it would raise its dividend to shareholders to an unprecedented 2.45 euros per share, in addition to giving fat profit-sharing checks to its workers. This comes as it expanded its workforce by 2 percent relative to 2013.
Looking ahead, the German carmaker said it expects to shatter its records once again this year as it bets on four new, or upgraded, SUVs to boost sales. In the coming years, Zetsche said, Daimler will “reach levels of profitability unlike anything this company has seen before.”
-DW.COM
