Daimler says first quarter EBIT up 87 percent in surprise release

Daimler AG's operating profit jumped a better-than-expected 87 percent in the first quarter, the German luxury carmaker said in an unscheduled release late on Tuesday.

The maker of Mercedes-Benz cars said group earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) jumped to 4.01 billion euros ($4.25 billion), up from 2.15 billion euros a year ago.

EBIT at its Mercedes-Benz Cars unit rose to 2.23 billion from 1.40 billion a year earlier.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger, editing by Larry King)