Chrysler, the third-largest American automaker behind General Motors and the Ford Motor Company, also reported quarterly revenue of $18 billion, a 7 percent improvement from the period a year earlier.
Sergio Marchionne, the chief executive of both Chrysler and its Italian parent, Fiat, said the American automaker benefited from increased shipments of models like the Jeep Grand Cherokee.
“Chrysler Group is poised for a very strong performance in the second half of the year,” he said.
The company said it sold 643,000 vehicles worldwide in the second quarter, up 10 percent from the second quarter of 2012.
In the United States, Chrysler reported an 11.4 percent market share, up slightly from 11.2 percent in the period a year earlier.
Mr. Marchionne said that new products, including the introduction of a new smaller Jeep model, would help sustain Chrysler’s momentum in the American market.
“The timing of product launches and capacity increases causes this year’s performance to be biased in the second half,” he said.
For the full year, Chrysler reiterated earlier forecasts of at least $72 billion in revenue, and net income of $1.7 billion to $2.2 billion.
The positive performance comes as Fiat and Chrysler move closer to completing a full merger of the two companies. While Fiat owns 58.5 percent of the American company, it is hoping to acquire the remaining shares later this year from a retiree health care trust.
A full merger of the companies would allow for more integration of their operations and finances. Mr. Marchionne has said it could be accompanied by a new stock offering to help finance global growth plans.
Chrysler’s results helped Fiat post a net profit of 435 million euros ($578 million) in the second quarter, up from 239 million euros in the period a year earlier.
Fiat said its revenue for the quarter was 22.3 billion euros ($29.6 billion), a 4 percent increase from the second quarter of 2012.
Without Chrysler’s contribution, Fiat said it would have lost 247 million euros in the quarter, about the same as in the period a year earlier.
Mr. Marchionne said that no agreement had yet been reached between Fiat and the health care trust on a price for the 41.5 percent stake the trust holds in Chrysler.
Although Fiat can apply Chrysler’s profits to its financial results, the Italian automaker cannot access the American company’s cash reserves.
At the end of the quarter, Chrysler said it had $11.9 billion in cash, a slight decrease from the $12.1 billion it reported a year ago.
Chrysler’s turnaround has accelerated since it paid off the last of its government loans two years ago.
The second-quarter results were the company’s eighth consecutive profitable quarter.
The profits were depressed slightly by a $151 million charge related to Chrysler’s recall and customer service action on 2.7 million older-model Jeeps. Last month, the company said it would add trailer hitches to some older Jeeps to help protect against fires caused by rear-end collisions.
Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/31/business/chryslers-profit-rises-16-as-sales-of-key-models-improve.html?partner=rss&emc=rss