Daimler sees strong increase in net profits in Q2

German automaker Daimler on Wednesday confirmed that its profits increased strongly in the second quarter. Net profits rose sharply to 4.5 million euros (5.6 million U.S. dollars) in the second quarter from 1.5 million euros during the same period last year, said the company in its interim report. The increase was mainly due to a one-off gain after the company sold its stake in EADS, the parent company of plane maker Airbus. Daimler reported gaining 3.2 billion euros from the sales of EADS shares. "This represents progress in our earnings development, but no cause for complacency," said Dieter Zetsche, Daimler AG chairman and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars. The company sold a total of 605,800 vehicles in the second quarter, 6 percent up year-on-year. The revenue in the second quarter rose by 3 percent year-on-year to 29.7 billion euros. Daimler expects improvements in the second half of the year driven by the launch of new products, increasing impact of efficiency programs and current market assumptions. The earnings before interest and taxes in 2013 are expected to be lower than the level in 2012 on the basis of current market assessment.