May 3 Reuters Germany39;s Daimler Truck AG posted firstquarter core profit of 1.21 billion euros 1.30 billion on Friday, beating the consensus estimate of 1.17 billion euros in a company poll, driven by a strong performance of its Trucks North America business.

Firstquarter core profit adjusted earnings before interest and taxes at Daimler Truck39;s North American business rose 7 yearonyear in the first quarter compared to 4 across Daimler Truck as a whole.

Orders were normalising across all regions after a bumper 2023, the maker of yellow Thomas Built school buses said, but order intake at Trucks North America grew almost 30 in the quarter on the same time last year.

Better pricing helped the result across the group, it added, compensating for lower unit sales.

Truckmakers are aiming to boost margins as demand slows following the release of pentup pandemic demand last year. Price rises helped Volkswagen39;s truckmaking unit Traton beat expectations during the first quarter, with price hikes at Volvo also partially offsetting an almost 20 fall in order intake.

Core profit at Daimler Truck39;s MercedesBenz business, which focuses on Europe, fell 4 on this time last year with the figure falling 39 for the Trucks Asia segment.

Daimler Truck last year made almost 45 of its sales in North America and about a third in Europe.

The maker of Freightliner and Western Star trucks reiterated its guidance for the year.

1 0.9317 euros

Additional Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach,…