Daimler Truck climb on Frankfurt market debut

Daimler Truck (DTGGe.DE)reached a valuation of 24.6 billion euros ($27.83 billion) by the market close on its first day of trading on Friday, leaving Daimler (DAIGn.DE) shareholders better off as a result of the long-awaited listing.

The truck and bus maker, the world’s largest by revenue, saw its shares climb only slightly from the opening price of 28 euros over the course of the day, with Daimler’s share price, adjusted for the spin-off, rising 2.87 per cent to 74.25 euros.

The split was announced in February and pitched by the two companies as an opportunity to unlock value in both Daimler Truck and the owner of Mercedes-Benz passenger cars and vans.

Daimler AG, soon to be renamed Mercedes-Benz AG, has kept 35 per cent of Daimler Truck shares, while 65 per cent were spun off. Shareholders in Daimler received one share in Daimler Truck for every two Daimler shares they owned.

“We are certain we will create value,” Daimler CEO Ola Kaellenius said, speaking to an emptier-than-usual hall in Frankfurt as pandemic restrictions limited the number of attendees.

“Trucks and cars have different requirements. We are thus unleashing the full potential of both companies,” he said.

Daimler Truck is targeting double-digit profit margins across the business in 2025, up from an expected 6-8 per cent in 2021, with a particular focus on boosting its lagging European sales.