(AP) - LUXURY SALES: Sales of its luxury Mercedes brand and a boost from its financial services arm helped Daimler AG increase earnings by 20 percent in the first quarter. But profitability slipped at Mercedes, where the company spent more on new models and increased production.

IT'S A RECORD: Mercedes sold a record 313,902 vehicles in the first three months of the year. That included a 12 percent rise in Western Europe, where the economy has been shaken by the debt crisis.

NO CHAMPAGNE YET: The company reaffirmed its cautious outlook for the year, saying that Mercedes would equal last year's profit.

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