INSTANT VIEW: Daimler cancels dividend, shares plunge

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Shares in Daimler plunged to the bottom of Germany's blue-chip index after the company said it will skip a dividend for 2009 as it swung to a 1.51 billion euro ($2.05 billion) loss before interest and tax.

MICHAEL PUNZET, ANALYST AT DZ BANK:

"The outlook statements seem very cautious to us and could lead to some downward revisions by other brokers. 2009 figures and cautious outlook statement confirms our skeptical view on Daimler."

JUERGEN PIEPER, ANALYST AT METZLER EQUITIES:

"The share reaction is quite heavy. The outlook of more than 2.3 billion euros of EBIT in 2010 is ok, even though the net result is weak. They canceled the dividend, but that can be forgiven regarding the current focus on cashflow."

ALEKSEJ WUNRAU, ANALYST AT BHF BANK:

"It's a big surprise that they canceled their dividend, suggesting that there might be negative effects on Daimler's cashflow in 2010."

FRANK SCHWOPE, ANALYST AT NORDLB:

"Those are very weak figures, the profit after tax is even lower than I expected. The future remains a bit vague, too. One has to ask what will happen in 2010. The outlook is not good."

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Myria Mildenberger; Editing by Erica Billingham)