Chrysler Group LLC reported its first quarterly net profit since emerging from bankruptcy nearly two years ago, helped by a revamped lineup of cars and trucks as well as higher vehicle prices, Reuters reported. Chrysler's first-quarter net income came to $116 million, compared with a net loss of $197 million a year earlier, as revenue shot up 35 percent to $13.1 billion. The company reported an operating profit of $477 million in the first quarter, compared with $143 million a year earlier. Sixty percent of the company's sales in the first quarter came from its revamped lineup, including the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Chrysler 200. Average vehicle prices rose to $28,300 in the first quarter, from $27,300 a year ago. Until now, Chrysler has posted a string of operating profits, but high interest costs on more than $7 billion in loans the company owes to the United States and Canada from its 2009 bailout have undercut its ability to post a net profit. Chrysler, which now operates under the management of Italian automaker Fiat SpA, is seeking a $3.5 billion term loan and $2.5 billion in bonds to refinance that debt, the company said Monday. Sergio Marchionne, the chief executive of Chrysler and Fiat, said the deal was close to being "crystallized." Chrysler also reiterated its full-year outlook, saying it aimed to post revenue of $55 billion and net income between $200 million and $500 million. Marchionne has said the company would need to post "a couple" quarters of net income before an initial public offering, which could come this year or next. "Success is incredibly temporary," Marchionne told analysts and reporters on a conference call. "The first quarter is done. We've got a lot of quarters to do." Fiat shares rose to the highest level in more than three months after the Chrysler report. MAJORITY STAKE FOR FIAT Chrysler may lose between 50,000 and 100,000 vehicles in 2011 as a result of the disruption of auto parts from Japan. The drop in vehicle output from Japanese automakers may offer some opportunities for Chrysler to increase production to plug in supply gaps. But Marchionne said those chances would not affect the company's full-year earnings projections. In the past two years, the company overhauled its vehicle lineup and recently spurred renewed buzz for its flagship brand with a Super Bowl ad, bearing the tagline "Imported from Detroit." The company also said on Monday that it would borrow $3.5 billion in a senior secured six-year term loan and $2.5 billion in secured bonds that will have eight- and 10-year maturities. -- SPA
