FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Deutsche Post DHL’s (DPWGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) earnings beat estimates in the first quarter as demand from Asia boosted profits at its express delivery business.

“The positive performance was largely the result of markedly higher volume of international shipments,” Europe’s biggest mail and express delivery company said on Tuesday.

“This trend more than offset the sale of the domestic express business in the United Kingdom and France.”

As the economy improves, companies spend more on shipping goods with Deutsche Post’s express delivery and freight businesses, pushing up freight rates especially in fast-growing markets such as Latin America, the Middle East and Asia.

The World Trade Organization has forecast international trade would expand by 6.5 percent this year, above the average rate between 1990 and 2008 percent but falling short of last year’s dramatic rebound of 14.5 percent.

Deutsche Post generated almost 14 percent of group revenue in Asia-Pacific, its fastest-growing market. It still generates about two thirds of revenues in its European home market.

Deutsche Post’s first-quarter underlying earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) rose 11 percent to 629 million euros, beating a 592 million euro analysts’ consensus figure.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) made a long-awaited bid for MAN (MANG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), valuing it at $20 billion and stepping up plans to merge the German truckmaker with Swedish rival Scania (SCVb.ST: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) in which it also holds a stake.

Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest carmaker, said on Monday it would offer MAN shareholders 95 euros per ordinary share and about 60 euros per preference share, in both cases less than the stock was trading at last week ahead of the bid.

“This low-ball offer serves to start the takeover process but still have maximum flexibility,” MM Warburg analyst Marc-Rene Tonn said.

The offer, which values the whole of MAN at 13.76 billion euros ($19.79 billion), was triggered when VW increased its stake above 30 percent, requiring a mandatory bid for the remaining shares under German rules.

The price represents a 1.6 pct discount to Friday’s close of MAN common shares and 14.2 pct discount on Friday’s close for the preference shares.

VW already owned 29.9 percent of MAN ordinary shares, which turned positive after the announcement, trading 2.1 percent higher at 98.52 euros at 1042 GMT. Volkswagen’s blue-chip preference shares narrowed losses to trade 1.5 percent lower at 128.45 euros.

“The timing of the offer is unexpected, but it was clear it would come eventually,” MM Warburg’s Tonn said.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Volkswagen made a long-awaited bid for MAN, valuing it at $20 billion and stepping up plans to merge the German truckmaker with Swedish rival Scania in which it also holds a stake.

Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest carmaker, said on Monday it would offer MAN shareholders 95 euros per ordinary share and about 60 euros per preference share, in both cases less than the stock was trading at last week ahead of the bid.

“This low-ball offer serves to start the takeover process but still have maximum flexibility,” MM Warburg analyst Marc-Rene Tonn said.

The offer, which values the whole of MAN at 13.76 billion euros ($19.79 billion), was triggered when VW increased its stake above 30 percent, requiring a mandatory bid for the remaining shares under German rules.

The price represents a 1.6 pct discount to Friday’s close of MAN common shares and 14.2 pct discount on Friday’s close for the preference shares.

VW already owned 29.9 percent of MAN ordinary shares, which turned positive after the announcement, trading 2.1 percent higher at 98.52 euros at 1042 GMT. Volkswagen’s blue-chip preference shares narrowed losses to trade 1.5 percent lower at 128.45 euros.

“The timing of the offer is unexpected, but it was clear it would come eventually,” MM Warburg’s Tonn said.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – ThyssenKrupp (TKAG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) shares jumped on Friday after the German steelmaker unveiled a 10 billion euro ($14 billion) divestment plan that could spur consolidation in Europe’s overcrowded stainless steel sector.

The restructuring will include a spin-off of the company’s stainless steel division and aims to help ThyssenKrupp pay down debt and focus on its engineering business.

Analysts had expected a shake-up since the company’s new Chief Executive Heinrich Hiesinger took over early this year.

But the scope of the revamp was more far-reaching than anticipated by the market.

“More surprising is the considered spin-off of Stainless Global, opening up strategic partnerships with former ArcelorMittal stainless unit Aperam or Finland-based Outokumpu,” Equinet analyst Stefan Freudenreich said.

ThyssenKrupp shares jumped 7.1 percent to 31.955 euros by 0908 GMT, outpacing a 0.5 percent gain by Germany’s DAX index .GDAXI.

ThyssenKrupp’s stainless business is Europe’s biggest with almost 3 million tonnes of output and annual sales of 5.9 billion euros. The company will examine all options for continuing the business outside the group.

FRANKFURT, May 5 (Reuters) – European airlines are seeking ways to further cut their costs to offset soaring fuel prices and the impact of international crises that are squeezing margins this year.

Political unrest in North Africa, an earthquake and subsequent nuclear crisis in Japan and European debt problems are adding to a toxic mixture of high oil prices and fierce competition among airlines fighting to make a profit.

German flagship carrier Lufthansa (LHAG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Thursday cost cuts could still help it achieve higher operating profits than last year, as it reiterated its 2011 outlook. [ID:nLDE74407S]

The airline hedges its exposure to fuel prices, has installed lighter seats on some of its planes to reduce their weight and plans to replace older aircraft with newer, more fuel-efficient ones to cut down on its expenses.

“We are working on many topics. There are more than 60 projects that deal just with reducing fuel consumption at the passenger airlines,” Lufthansa finance chief Stephan Gemkow told reporters during a conference call.

Fuel costs account for about a third of its overall expenses, and it sees the bill continuing to rise.

International oil prices hit a 2-1/2 year high last month as unrest spread in North Africa and the Middle East and fanned concerns supply could be disrupted, with U.S. crude CLc1 staying above $100 per barrel. [O/R]

FRANKFURT, May 4 (Reuters) – BMW (BMWG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) beat expectations in the first quarter on strong demand for luxury cars in China and growth in the United States, signalling the rebound in the global auto market is here to stay.

The company said it still aims to sell more than 1.5 million cars this year and post higher earnings than in 2010.

BMW, which also owns the Rolls-Royce and Mini brands, said on Wednesday its operating profit rose more than fourfold to 1.90 billion euros ($2.8 billion), exceeding the average analyst estimate of 1.51 billion in a Reuters poll.

Shares in BMW rose 1.8 percent to 64.52 euros by 0818 GMT, while the STOXX Europe 600 Automobiles & Parts index was up 0.22 percent.

The carmaker’s strong results echo those of rivals Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Daimler (DAIGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) whose sales growth was fuelled by demand for cars in emerging markets such as China.

Global luxury car makers, from Volkswagen’s Audi to Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz, have racked up eye-popping sales in China, where a growing army of super-rich is fuelling demand for premium items such as Gucci handbags and Rolls-Royce cars.

China’s car market — the world’s biggest ahead of the United States — is expected to cool this year amid rising fuel prices and tighter rules on registration after surging by a third to a record high in 2010.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – German truckmaker MAN (MANG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) rode a recovery in the European market and growing Latin American demand to beat first quarter earnings expectations, underlining a wider recovery in the sector.

“The recovery on the European commercial vehicles market is proving to be sustained and is being driven by both domestic and foreign demand,” MAN said in a statement on Tuesday.

Volvo (VOLVb.ST: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Scania (SCVb.ST: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), two of Europe’s biggest truck makers, last week posted forecast-beating operating margins, underscoring the sharp rebound in the global market and raising expectations for Daimler.

The highly cyclical heavy-duty truck market has picked up strongly in recent quarters, with growth spreading out of emerging markets in Asia and Latin America to more mature markets on both sides of the North Atlantic.

According to industry association ACEA, new commercial vehicle registrations in the European Union rose 14.7 percent year-on-year.

MAN is also banking on further, albeit slower, growth in Brazil, where it plans to raise production capacity to about 82,000 vehicles from 72,000.

MAN said it still expects group revenue to grow 7-10 percent this year, with return on sales expanding by at least 1 percentage point on the back of higher capacity utilization.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Daimler posted robust quarterly results that underwhelmed investors whose expectations had been inflated by recent stellar reports by peers such as Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and truck maker Volvo (VOLVb.ST: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

Shares of Daimler slid to the bottom of the German blue-chip index .GDAXI as well as the STOXX Europe 600 Automobiles & Parts index, trading 2.1 percent lower at 51.97 euros at 0829 GMT.

Daimler’s first-quarter earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) rose 71 percent to 2.03 billion euros ($3 billion), helped by strong passenger car demand from emerging markets and a robust truck business.

That was slightly above the average analyst estimate of 1.99 billion euros in a Reuters poll but not enough to move Daimler shares higher.

“While the first quarter was definitely a good quarter for Daimler, it also shows that it becomes more difficult for the company to surprise positively as expectations are high,” Equinet analyst Tim Schuldt said.

Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest carmaker, this week blasted through market forecasts as it reported emerging markets boosted its quarterly business.

Daimler’s passenger car business also benefited from demand in China — now the world’s largest car market — where it sold 82 percent more cars in the first three months of 2011 than in the year-earlier period.

FRANKFURT, April 27 (Reuters) – Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Europe’s largest carmaker, tore through quarterly earnings forecasts with emerging markets fuelling a sharp rise in sales and taking it closer to its goal of overtaking Toyota (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

Carmakers have turned to booming markets such as Brazil, Russia and China — now the world’s largest auto market — for growth as European markets stagnate.

VW, whose stable of brands includes Audi, Skoda and Seat, sold 14 percent more vehicles in the first quarter of the year thanks to demand from abroad and a low exposure to supply-chain problems related to the crisis in Japan.

“We continue to see the most dynamic growth prospects in the emerging markets of Asia and Latin America, whereas the industrialised nations will continue to experience only moderate growth,” Volkswagen said on Wednesday.

Bernstein Research said VW’s strong performance was part of a wider trend of demand for German marques.

“The world wants to buy German vehicles, and BMW (BMWG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Mercedes (DAIGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and VW are taking market share everywhere,” Bernstein analysts said in a note on Wednesday.

The country’s car exports jumped by 24 percent in 2010, but German carmakers are already producing more vehicles abroad than in their home market to meet demand from countries such as the United States and China.

FRANKFURT, March 25 (Reuters) – European carmakers face production cuts and a squeeze on profits if difficulties persist in sourcing car parts from Japan, with some analysts saying they could lose up to 2.4 billion euros ($3.4 billion) of annual profits.

Some companies in Europe have already started cutting production as problems mount at Japanese parts makers, hit by the effects of the devastating earthquake and tsunami, in turn hampering carmakers and suppliers around the world.

European carmakers get electronic parts, semiconductors and some mechanical parts such as gear boxes from Japan.

Some say it could be months, rather than weeks, before production gets back on track in Japan, where lost production in the two weeks since the quake tops a third of a million vehicles. [ID:nL3E7EC03B]

Commerzbank said in a worst-case scenario of a complete shut-down of Japanese production for a month — which it said was not very likely — European carmakers could take a 2.4 billion euro ($3.4 billion) hit to pretax profit in 2011.

Italy’s Fiat (FIA.MI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and France’s PSA Peugeot Citroen (PEUP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) would likely be worst hit because they are less profitable than for instance their German peers.

Modern cars have as many as 30,000 parts supplied by many different component makers. A single missing bolt can halt assembly lines and set off a chain reaction in the industry’s famed just-in-time manufacturing process.