Fiat-Chrysler profits plunge in second quarter

Allpar.com ^ | 7/30/14 | Bill Cawthon

[Impala64ssa]

Fiat S.p.A. announced its second-quarter results from Turin this morning for what could be the last time, if shareholders approve the Fiat-Chrysler merger on Friday.

Worldwide shipments rose 2%, to 1.2 million, in the second quarter as revenues rose 5% to $31.2 billion

NAFTA region shipments grew 10% while Asia Pacific (APAC) region jumped 42%. This growth was partially offset by a 21% decline in Latin American (LATAM) markets. The European-Middle-East-Africa (EMEA) region shipments were essentially flat.

Revenues were up 7% in the NAFTA region and 34% in APAC while EMEA revenues fell by 3% and LATAM revenues plunged 23%.

EBIT (earnings before taxes and interest) was nearly $1.3 billion, down 10% from more than $1.4 billion in the second quarter of 2013. EBIT for the group’s luxury brands soared 58% to $81.7 million. By region, APAC EBIT was up 20% to $24 million while EMEA earnings rose by $84.4 million to almost the breakeven point. Earnings in the Latin America region fell 72% to $217 million and NAFTA results were down 18% to $181 million. Fiat noted the NAFTA results were impacted by special charges and a higher cost of incentives in the second quarter.

Net profit fell nearly 55% to roughly $264 million from about $583 million in the second quarter of 2013. The decline reflects the lower EBIT as well as a $183.6 million tax charge due to U.S. earnings now being subject to deferred taxes.

Net industrial debt was reduced to $13 billion, an improvement of $402 million from the end of the first quarter of this year. The improvement was aided by $800 million in positive cash flow from operations.

[EricT.]

Back in the day, I had a Renault Alliance. It was a decent car that got 44mpg. Aside from the CV joints and tie rods wearing out, I had no major problems with it. The engine was sound, but underpowered.

[The Antiyuppie]

Well, they forced the 500 on dealers - the one in our town built a separate showroom for it - and they have them stacked up over there. In our case, I suspect that it was one of the reasons that the dealership was sold.

[HamiltonJay]

Chrysler gets beat up on reliability, but the one I had, a 1996 Chrysler Sebring Convertible JXi that I bought used in 2000 ran like a champ until I got rid of it in 2009. had over 170,000 miles on it when it finally was time for it to go and the only repair I had to do to it beyond routine maintenance was replace the head gasket at about 120k.

And that was a first model year car. I can’t speak for every car they built, but my experience was a relatively positive one. I replaced it with a used 2004 model and that car was indeed junkier and far poorer designed, rattled constantly, engine was notorious for coolant leaking etc.

I was disappointed to hear that they will no longer make a convertible version of the 200 (what replaced the sebring). I was planning on looking into a hardtop convertible of that model in a few years.

[mylife]

My brother still raves about his.

[ozzymandus]

Yeah, I remember the Chrysler/Mercedes deal. I remember thinking at the time “I thought Germans were smart”.

[randita]

This is our third Town and Country and we’ve been happy with them for the most part. But the sporadically jerky transmission on this one is annoying.

[EricT.]

I wouldn’t rave about it. It was a decent car for a modest price.

[mylife]

Well you know.. that is just what the world needs for the entry level market but I do not get the idea that this sort of car will save the planet, and I sure as hell aint paying 20K for a little efficient underpowered thing.

Mind you I drove VW for 20 years.

[HamiltonJay]

They didn’t invent and own that entire segment for no reason... IF you are going to go for a top of the line mini van you really have 2 choices, the T&C or the Odyssey decked out.

I was surprised that Honda, not Chrysler, was first to put AWD in a mini, but given how poorly Chrysler was being run by its previous owners it wasn’t shocking.