Daimler reaffirms 2012 earnings target

BERLIN (AP) - Daimler AG is reaffirming its forecast that earnings will be steady this year even though its core Mercedes-Benz Cars unit saw deliveries rise in the first quarter.

Daimler said ahead of its annual general meeting on Wednesday that Mercedes-Benz Cars sold more than 340,000 vehicles in the January-March period - a 12 percent increase compared with a year earlier. It said its trucks division saw sales rise 20 percent to 107,000.

The company says it expects total unit sales to increase "significantly" in 2012 and revenues to grow but that it is still targeting the 2011 level of pretax earnings, (euro) 9 billion ($12 billion).

Daimler says global car markets should grow by 4 percent this year. CEO Dieter Zetsche says he hopes Mercedes will do better than that.