Chrysler Group has announced a slightly narrowed loss of $172 million for the second quarter, down from $197 million in Q1, as it releases its full Q2 financial data today that paints a steadily-improving picture at the formerly ailing U.S. automaker.

Net revenues for the second quarter were up 8 percent to $10.5 billion compared to $9.7 billion in the first quarter of the year riding on the back of a gradually recovering U.S. market while overall shipments were up 53,000 units (+14 percent) over the first quarter to 433,000 units which made it the fourth consecutive quarter of increased shipments since the Chrysler Group emerged as a new entity following the bruising bankruptcy process a year ago. While the carmaker recorded a net loss today for the second quarter, operating profit was in positive territory, $183 million being an improvement of $40 million compared to the first quarter.

Chrysler said today that operating performance increased thanks to higher sales volumes and improved manufacturing efficiencies, offset partially by the model mix, the impact of the Jeep Grand Cherokee changeover and higher R&D expenses to support new products development, while an operating profit margin of 1.7 percent of net revenues was a useful increase over the 1.5 percent achieved in during the first quarter of the year. EBITDA of $855 million (8.2 percent of net revenues) meanwhile was a $68 million increase from the first quarter. There was more positive news as net industrial debt improved by $0.4 billion to $3.4 billion and the carmaker has strong liquidity at $10.1 billion, including $2.3 billion of undrawn credit facilities under available loan facilities.

Sergio Marchionne, Chief Executive Officer of Chrysler Group stated today: "The second quarter operating profit confirms that Chrysler Group is on track to achieve its goals, yet an extraordinary amount of work still lies ahead. Customer traffic in our dealerships and confidence in the Company's future continued to grow with the launch of the all-new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee, one of the signature vehicles for Chrysler Group. The Grand Cherokee sets the standard for this Company to produce high quality, technologically advanced vehicles. 2010 is seen as a year of transition and stabilisation. With most of our 16 all-new or refreshed products launching later this year, including the all-new Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, Dodge CUV, the iconic Fiat 500 and the Chrysler Sebring replacement, Chrysler Group must continue to be rigorous, disciplined and focused on the task at hand," Marchionne concluded. The report issued today stated that "2010 guidance remains unchanged (including a minimum of operating breakeven), but will probably be revised upwards on the basis of Q3 2010 performance."

Worldwide sales during the second quarter were up 73,000 units (+22 percent) to 407,000 compared to the first three months of the year with steady month-over-month growth as brand repositioning efforts and marketing campaigns continue to drive increased customer showroom traffic, and that has all led to an improved U.S. market share, now at 9.4 percent. Chrysler is continuing its policy of strict inventory discipline with U.S. dealer inventory currently at 222,000 units, or 60 days of supply.