DaimlerChrysler posted a 10 percent rise in first-quarter profit and upped its guidance for US arm Chrysler on Thursday, giving CEO Juergen Schrempp a lift before a board meeting that may end his tenure.
But the car giant's chief financial officer declined to shed any light on Schrempp's future after sources close to the situation said the CEO and two other board members had tendered their resignations over the firm's troubled investment in Mitsubishi Motors.
"As far as a resignation of Schrempp is concerned, there is nothing I can tell you. These are only questions which are related to the supervisory board", CFO Manfred Gentz, also a management board member, told reporters on a conference call.
He noted that the management board was "fully loyal" to its chairman, though he did not explicitly name Schrempp.
The supervisory board meeting was scheduled to start at 1400 GMT (1000 EDT) in New York.
DaimlerChrysler reported operating earnings of 1.541 billion euros ($1.82 billion), beating analyst expectations thanks to cost cutting and higher sales at Chrysler and growth at its trucks business.
Group sales fell three percent to 32.35 billion euros but rose seven percent adjusted for currency effects. Net profit fell 33 percent to 393 million euros, missing forecasts, due to losses at troubled German road toll venture Toll Collect, Japanese partner Mitsubishi and higher taxes.
Gentz said the company had made significant savings at Chrysler in the first quarter and saw more to come, making DaimlerChrysler more confident that it would hit its 2004 profit target.
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