Daimler posts 30% jump in profit

German carmaker Daimler posted on Wednesday a 30 percent jump in its second quarter net profit to a record 1.7 billion euros ($2.5 billion). Core earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) jumped to a record 2.581 billion euros, from 2.104 billion in the same period a year earlier, the group said in a statement. Daimler, which has seen sales in emerging markets mark solid gains, forecast that its full-year core earnings "will very significantly exceed the level of 2010." In the three months from April through June, group sales gained 4.8 percent to 26.3 billion euros, while the Mercedes-Benz division posted its strongest core earnings ever at 1.566 billion euros, up from 1.376 billion a year before. "The very good earnings trend is primarily a reflection of increased vehicle shipments by nearly all divisions," Daimler chairman Dieter Zetsche was quoted as saying. "Mercedes-Benz Cars actually recorded its strongest-ever volumes and highest-ever quarterly EBIT," he added.