(New: Statements from the Capital Markets Day, including long-term targets and payout ratio, closing price.)

BOSTON/LEINFELDEN-ECHTERDINGEN (dpa-AFX) - Commercial vehicle manufacturer Daimler Truck is becoming more optimistic about the current year thanks to its good current run and also wants to earn more money in the long term. Unit sales, revenue and profit margins are expected to be higher in 2023 than previously forecast, and the group, which is listed on Germany's leading Dax index, also plans to buy back shares worth billions of euros.

"This clearly shows: we are very confident about our future path," CEO Martin Daum said late the previous evening, according to the statement. On Tuesday, the manager added at an investor event in Boston: in 2030, Daimler Truck is to be significantly larger and more profitable than already targeted at the middle of the decade.

The share gained 2.5 percent to 32.69 euros in the Dax top group on Tuesday. After major ups and downs this year, the share price has thus gained around 13 percent since the beginning of the year. Analyst Himanshu Agarwal from the US investment bank Jefferies spoke of positive news with regard to the raised forecast for 2023, but said it was no longer a big surprise. Jose Asumendi of US bank JPMorgan, on the other hand, praised the company's business performance, which he said was at a level not seen in recent years.

The company is becoming more confident about profits. The adjusted earnings margin before interest and taxes in the industrial business - i.e. excluding financial services - which has received a lot of attention from experts, is expected to be 8.5 to 10 percent of sales for the full year (PY: 7.7). Previously, 7.5 to 9 percent had been expected. Daum anticipates slightly higher returns in all divisions than previously.

The company justified its confidence with more stable supply chains, stronger core markets, robust price penetration and strong development of the high-margin service business. Last year, the Swabians had launched the largest price increases ever in the Group, some of which are still having an impact at present. In addition, Daum has imposed a renewed cost-cutting program on the Mercedes-Benz truck brand.

The division, which is primarily represented in Europe and Latin America, is to be responsible for the majority of the planned fixed cost reductions that are still outstanding until 2025. To this end, division head Karin Radstrom is cutting 1750 jobs in a major restructuring in Brazil because certain businesses such as axles and transmissions will no longer be continued. In addition, 1000 part-time contracts will not be extended.

Whereas Daimler Truck previously expected margins of more than 10 percent in its core business in the middle of the decade under favorable conditions, Daum now expects to be able to land above 12 percent by 2030. Even in an adverse environment, margins of 8 to 9 percent are still to be achieved. To achieve this, the service business is to be expanded significantly, and management also wants to gain market share. Sales are expected to grow by another 40 to 60 percent between 2025 and 2030.

Among other things, the plans also include a lot of business with software. Technology for autonomous driving is expected to bring in around more than 3 billion euros in sales and more than one billion euros in operating profit in 2030. The Group expects higher sales per unit in the future from the introduction of battery-electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles.

However, according to Daum, there are clear prerequisites for this: There will be no cost parity between diesel and zero-emission vehicles over the entire life of the vehicle at the customer's end, he said, unless regulators decide on further demand measures for the new drive technologies in addition to tougher emissions limits, including pricing for CO2 emissions. In particular, the price of green energy would be crucial, said Andreas Gorbach, the company's chief technology officer.

In addition to the share buyback of up to 2 billion euros, which was already indicated in the spring and has now been firmed up, shareholders are to benefit somewhat more from the business in the future with a payout ratio of 40 to 60 percent of net profit. Previously, the target was to distribute at least 40 percent to shareholders.

Group sales are now expected to reach 56 to 58 billion euros in 2023, it said on Monday evening. Previously, 55 to 57 billion euros had been targeted, which was already significantly higher than the previous year's figure of 50.9 billion. Analysts had previously been aiming for the lower end of the new forecast range. Sales are expected to be between 530,000 and 550,000 units. Previously management had expected 510,000 to 530,000 vehicles, roughly the same level as a year earlier (PY: 520,291).

Sales figures from the second quarter, which Daimler Truck also presented, had a supporting effect. A total of just under 132,000 vehicles were sold. In the second quarter of the previous year, unit sales were just under 121,000. In North America, the largest and most profitable market, sales continued to increase significantly by 15 percent./men/he/la/jha/