FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Tough cost controls helped carmaker Daimler increase its profits even during the pandemic. The German luxury carmaker saw profits rise to 4.0 billion euros in 2020 even though it sold fewer of its Mercedes-Benz luxury cars. CEO Ola Kallenius said profits rose thanks to keeping costs down and because the cars the company did sell carried high profits per vehicle. China’s recovery helped too as Mercedes broke its sales record there despite the pandemic. The outlook for this year is profits “significantly above” last year’s performance. And the company’s management is proposing to raise its dividend payout to shareholders.
