Chrysler posts operating profit

Chrysler posted an operating profit of $143 million in the first quarter, attributed by Chrysler to price discipline, improvements to the sales mix, the Ram Heavy Duty launch, and cost reductions (the latter being implemented along with increased “in-house” and contract engineer hiring). Chrysler’s overall net loss was $197 million, with revenue of $9.7 billion for the first quarter.

Cash flow is being increased, with modified earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization of $787 million, versus $398 million in the fourth quarter of 2009. The company’s cash position is now over $7 billion, bringing total liquidity to nearly $10 billion.

Sergio Marchionne stated that customer traffic had increased in the first quarter, and that the year’s targets included a positive operating profit of up to $200 million on revenue of $40-45 billion.

Worldwide vehicle sales were 334,000 units, versus 318,000 in the fourth quarter of 2009, with market share going from 8.1% to 9.1 in the US and from 11.6% to 13.7% in Canada vs Q4 2009.

Fiat, on the other hand, posted a net loss of $33.6 million, a much smaller loss than in the first quarter of 2009 but far from the net profit expected by analysts. Revenue was 15% higher, at $17 billion. (Fiat includes both auto and industrial sales.)