Fiat Group has posted a trading profit of 951m (£767.4m) at the end of third quarter of 2012, down from the 1bn reported at the end of Q2, with $381m (293.5m, £236.9m) coming from the net income reported by the Chrysler brand, up 80% year-on-year.
Trading profit for Fiat Group in Q3 was up 11.75% on Q3 2011, despite the Europe, Middle East and Africa region recording a trading loss of 238m.
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Group revenues stood at 20.4bn at the end of Q3, up 16% year-on-year but down 5.12% on Q2, with net profit stood at 286m, down from 358m at the half-way point of 2012. With net industrial debt at 6.7bn and liquidity reduced to 20bn, all figures were reported as "in-line with reconfirmed full-year earnings guidance", according to a company statement.
Chrysler, reporting separately from Detroit, posted revenue for the quarter at $15.5bn, up 18% year-on-year.
Sergio Marchionne, chief executive of Chrysler and parent Fiat, said the Chrysler brand had "changed the conversation" and was working "feverishly" since bankruptcy and government bailout in 2009. Yet Marchionne was reported by the New York Times as possibly aiming to cut losses at Fiat which is suffering from the general near-collapse of new car sales in Europe.
Total available liquidity for the group was down by 11.89% quarter-on-quarter at 20bn, including 3bn in undrawn credit lines and the effect of operations’ cash absorption and gross debt reduction of 1.7bn.
Marchionne also confirmed Chrysler’s end-of-year target of $1.5bn in net income, with the company holding $11.9bn in cash at the end of Q3, up 25.26% on the end of Q3 2011. Net industrial debt was $693m, down from $2.86bn a year ago.
Further analysis of the Fiat and Chrysler results will appear in the November issue of Motor Finance magazine.
richard.brown@vrlfinancialnews.com
