Chrysler loses $690 million in first quarter on losses related to Fiat merger
DETROIT – Chrysler Group lost $690 million in the first quarter due to charges related to its merger with Italian automaker Fiat SpA.
Fiat paid $3.65 billion to acquire Chrysler’s remaining shares in January. As part of the deal, Chrysler agreed to pay $700 million to upgrade its factories.
Chrysler took a $672 million charge in the first quarter to meet those commitments. It also booked a $540 million non-cash loss to extinguish debt.
Without those one-time items, Chrysler would have earned $486 million, more than double the $166 million it earned in the January-March period a year ago.
Revenue rose 23 per cent to $19 billion.
Worldwide vehicle sales jumped 10 per cent to 621,000, as Chrysler saw strong sales of the new Jeep Cherokee SUV and Ram pickup.
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