Skip navigation
Newswire

MAN trucks chief sees significant 2003 profit rise

MUNICH, March 18 (Reuters) - The head of the trucks unit of German industrial conglomerate MAN AG said on Tuesday he expected the business to see a significant rise in earnings this year as cost-cutting measures bear fruit.

"We are still waiting for the market upturn that was forecast for 2002," Hakan Samuelsson, the Chief Executive of MAN's commercial vehicles business told a news conference, but said he hoped the low point had been reached and expected market volumes to pick up moderately in the second half.

He said ongoing restructuring at the unit's loss-making bus business, where MAN plans to cut around 1,000 jobs over the next three years, would also lead to sustained cost reductions.

"We are therefore confident that, on the basis of a stable overall market, we will be able to achieve a significant improvement in profits."

The commercial vehicles unit broke even last year, posting a pre-tax profit of 13 million euros compared to a 49-million-euro loss in 2001.