Embattled US automaker Chrysler reported Monday a net loss of $172 million in the second quarter, a smaller loss than in the first quarter of the year. One year after it left bankruptcy, Chrysler trimmed its quarterly losses by $25 million from the first three months of 2010 and said it was seeing more customers in its dealerships, helping it post an operating profit. “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,” said Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne. Operating profit - which excludes taxes, interest and other charges - was up $40 million to $183 million between April and June. Chrysler formed a strategic alliance with Fiat upon emerging from bankruptcy on June 10, leaving the Italian Marchionne to head the firm. Marchionne said he now expected the roll-out of new models to drive growth for the rest of the year. “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,” he said. “2010 is seen as a year of transition and stabilization. With most of our 16 all-new or refreshed products launching later this year... Chrysler Group must continue to be rigorous, disciplined and focused on the task at hand.” Worldwide sales rose around 22 percent in the second quarter, to 407,000 units, as US market share climbed slightly to 9.4 percent, from 9.1 percent. Last year soon after taking office, President Barack Obama was faced with a tough decision on whether to save Chrysler and General Motors - two of the Big Three US auto giants - or let them die, with the loss of thousands of jobs in the firms and related industries. On July 30, Obama visited Chrysler and GM plants where he defended the decisions he made to save the firms from going under. Obama visited Chrysler's Jefferson North Assembly Plant, where the company added a second shift of workers worth 1,100 jobs, as the plant launched production of its new Jeep Grand Cherokee. A year after emerging from bankruptcy protection, Chrysler is stanching its losses and seeing demand for its cars and trucks rise. But it's far from healthy, and its CEO says the company has more tough work ahead. The US and Canada are Chrysler's primary markets, and both have seen higher demand for cars and trucks since a recession-driven slump last year. Chrysler's revenues rose 8.2 percent to $10.5 billion compared with the first quarter, largely because of a jump in sales. But many of those sales were to rental-car, government and corporate fleets, which are less profitable than sales to individual buyers. Chrysler was in bankruptcy protection for much of second quarter last year.
