Chrysler nets $1.6B income in Q4, Fiat profit up 5%

Wed, 29 Jan 2014

Chrysler announced its 2013 financial results today and unveiled its new name and decidedly bank-like logo. Amid the announcement, Chrysler posted big gains in income, while Fiat didn't perform to analysts' expectations.

For 2013, Chrysler had revenue of $72.1 billion, up 10 percent from 2012. Net income reached $2.8 billion, a 65-percent increase. It was the company's third straight year of annual profits.

In terms of unit sales, Chrysler sold 2.4 million cars worldwide in 2013, up 9 percent. According to Automotive News, 1.8 million of those vehicles were sold in the US, a 14-percent increase. The sales growth boosted Chrysler's US market share to 11.4 percent, up 0.2 percent.

The smallest of the Detroit Three can celebrate today because, for the first time since its 2009 bankruptcy, the company has more cash than debt. Chrysler reports that it has $13.3 billion in cash, up from $11.6 billion in 2012, and holds $12.3 billion in debt, down from $12.6 billion last year.

In the fourth quarter, Chrysler brought in $21.2 billion in revenue and net income of $1.6 billion. The strong growth at the end of the year is due in large part to strong launch of the Jeep Cherokee. Chrysler has sold 25,000 of them since October 1.

Fiat reported its fourth-quarter earnings as well, and while it showed growth worldwide, it was lower than analysts expected. Fiat's earnings before interest and taxes were 931 million euros ($1.27 billion), a 5-percent increase over the fourth quarter of 2012. Analysts expected Fiat would have 1.15 billion euros ($1.57 billion) in earnings for the quarter.

With Chrysler's growth showing no signs of slowing, it appears that Fiat made the right decision to finally complete the merger between them.

By Chris Bruce