Daimler said that it expected 2013 earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) from continued operations to be below last year's 8.125bn euros, a level it had previously aimed to reach again this year.

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The analysts expect lower material costs and an appreciating Euro could help raise 2012 and 2013 EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) margins to a five-year high of 6.7%, rising to 9.7% by 2015 with increased sales growth.

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Last year, for example, 13% of Lion Nathan's total assets were in wine, but only 2% of earnings (before interest, tax and depreciation) came from wine.

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As a result, last year Vivendi's telecoms businesses contributed a disproportionately high euro2.31 billion to its euro5.04 billion ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation).

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The company warned shortly after the New Year that a bad season of holiday sales will lead to lower than expected adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization.

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As the economic news worsens and profits dive, more firms will be at risk of breaching covenants on standard measures such as the ratio of debt to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation.

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The world's biggest media company said that earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation were 20% up in the first quarter as against the year before (assuming completion of the merger in January 2000).

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For well-heeled firms like Aventis, a pharmaceuticals and agribusiness group, this poses little problem even though in 2001 the company's pension liability was half as much again as its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation.

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