The troubled Chrysler subsidiary of DaimlerChrysler should be back in profit for the first quarter of 2002 after a loss of 2.18 billion euros ($US1.9 billion) in the last quarter of 2001.
Executives made the forecast at DC’s annual meeting in Berlin this week, intending to soothe angry shareholders who had called for changes in both the company#;s strategy and management.
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DC said Chrysler would show a small operating profit for the first quarter after five consecutive quarterly losses which totalled 5.4 billion euros in 2001 alone.
DC in February had forecast Chrysler#;s return to profit this year but the black ink was not expected in the first quarter.
Analysts generally welcomed the news but noted that Chrysler was getting a lucky break due to the faster than expected recovery in the incentive-led US car market.
Forecasts had been made on a 15 billion car market for 2002 yet sales were running at a 16.2 billion rate year to date.
