The Fiat Group
announced their fourth quarter financial results this
morning, with losses narrowing further as the Italian
industrial conglomerate achieved its desired break-even, and
now predicts a stronger 2005.
Fourth quarter Group operating profit came in at 259 million
euros, 80 percent up year-on-year, thus allowing the Group
to post a visually-important full year net income of 22
million euros, and reiterate that the recovery plan is on
the right track.
Group Net loss
for the year came in at 374 million euros, well under half
of that recorded in 2003, when the net loss achieved was 1.1
billion euros.
While the Auto Division continued to impact on Group
earnings, posting an operating loss of 874 million euros
(down from 979 million euros in 2003) for the year, the
Iveco and CNH Global divisions both posted strong profits,
which helped to improve the overall figures. Fourth quarter
Auto Division loss was 96 million euros (almost unchanged on
97 million year-on-year).
Total revenues for Fiat Auto were 20.5 billion euros,
fractionally up on 20 billion in 2003. Fiat Auto management
professed themselves satisfied with the result, broadly in
line with their predictions, and expect strong growth this
year, ahead of a return to full profitability in 2007.
With the US$2
billion of GM cash coming into play now, and new alliances
beckoning, the short term strategy being pursued by new Fiat
CEO Sergio Marchionne, 52, is beginning to reap positive
results.
Generally market watcher's rate Marchionne's direction and
solutions highly, and expect him to implement further
severe, cost-cutting measures which will positively and
directly impact on the bottom-line, during the course of
this year.
The results come less than twenty four hours before three
key new models from Fiat Auto are launched at the 75th
Geneva Salon: the Alfa Romeo 159 (which replaces the
important D-segment Alfa 156), the exciting new Alfa Romeo
Brera 2+2 sportscar, while from Fiat, the new Croma arrives
after a decade's absence.
With Lancia also pitching at the important Swiss show, by
revealing a performance version of the Ypsilon tomorrow,
Fiat are in a real upbeat mood this week.
Announcing the
financial results at a press conference this morning,
Marchionne reiterated that Fiat Group will not sell any
shares in Ferrari this year, following the
soon-to-be-announced IPO, and 'maybe never at all'.
