MAN’s 4Q Profit Gains on Eastern European Growth

MAN AG, Europe’s third-largest truckmaker, said its fourth-quarter profit rose 33% as vehicle deliveries surged in the booming Eastern European economies such as Poland and Russia, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

Net income rose to about $485 million, from $365 million a year earlier, Munich-based MAN said. Revenue rose 35% to about $7.7 billion.

Chief Executive Officer Hakan Samuelsson forecast that 2008 sales will rise more than 5% and operating profit will increase, on growth in Eastern Europe, Bloomberg reported.

Industrywide sales in the region jumped 47% last year, compared with 2.7% in Western Europe.