March 14 (Reuters) - Daimler Truck, one of

the world's largest truckmakers, on Friday forecast its 2025

adjusted operating profit to rise by 5%-15% and launched a

cost-cutting programme in Europe after the region underperformed

last year.

"While 2024 was a solid year with strong cash generation on

a Group level, performance and resilience are not satisfying in

Europe," CFO Eva Scherer said in a statement.

The outlook is contingent on further macroeconomic and

geopolitical developments, particularly possible impact from

tariffs, the company said.

For 2024, Daimler Truck reported a 15% drop in adjusted

earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) to 4.67 billion euros

($5.06 billion), citing lower demand and cost challenges in the

European market.

The effects in Europe were only partly offset by recovering

markets in Latin America, the company said.

European truckmakers faced challenges last year as sales

declined following a record-breaking performance in 2023,

fuelled by pent-up demand from the pandemic.

German rival Traton warned of cautious sales for

the commercial vehicle market in 2025, while Swedish Volvo

reported strong quarterly order intake.

Shares in European truck makers have been volatile so far

this year. They started rallying on hopes of higher orders ahead

of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and production shifts

to the U.S., but were impacted later by cautious outlook for the

European market and U.S. efforts to reverse electric vehicle

related rules.

Daimler Truck also said it started an efficiency programme

to reduce recurring costs for Mercedes-Benz Trucks in Europe by

over 1 billion euros by latest 2030.

($1 = 0.9219 euros)