Fiat confirmed on Friday local news reports that its automotive division might surpass its operating profit target for the year, Reuters reported.
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“We confirm it,” a group spokesman told the news agency.
In an interview with InterAutoNews republished in various local newspapers, Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne reportedly said the division might exceed the target.
“We have announced (EUR)100m (euros) of operating profit for auto but it is obvious that, if we continue at this rate, there is the possibility that this number will be surpassed,” he was quoted by Il Sole 24 Ore as saying.
But Marchionne, who has been overseeing a restructuring of the group, said he needed more time before being certain about this possibility, according to the reports.
“I am not ready to raise the targets,” he said. “I want to do it on a solid base.”
Marchionne reportedly said he would have to wait until the end of the second quarter or the third quarter.
Reuters noted that new models, especially the Grande Punto, have boosted Fiat sales, enabling it to recapture about a third of its home market – in the first quarter, it sold 214,000 units, up 18.3% from the same period last year.
