German automaker Daimler said Thursday that net profit fell 21 percent in the third quarter as the company faced backlogs registering vehicles under new emissions rules and costs rose due to regulatory pressure over diesel emissions.
Daimler's net profit fell to 1.76 billion euros ($2.01 billion) from 2.24 billion euros in the year-ago quarter. Revenue fell 1 percent to 40.2 billion euros.
The company, which makes Mercedes-Benz luxury cars, had already warned that profits would decrease due to regulatory actions involving diesel cars and other issues. It now says profits for the year will be "significantly lower" than last year.
CEO Dieter Zetsche nonetheless gave an upbeat assessment for the remainder of the year, saying that "the continued high demand from our customers makes us confident for the fourth quarter."