Fiat Chrysler Automobiles assembly workers produce protective masks, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at the Assembly Plant in Betim near Belo Horizonte, Brazil, May 20, 2020.
Washington Alves | Reuters
Fiat Chrysler said Friday it lost $1.24 billion (1.05 billion euros) in the second quarter as the coronavirus caused rolling shutdowns at its plants across the globe.
The company managed to beat Wall Street’s earnings expectations but missed on revenue, which declined 56% from a year earlier. Here’s how Fiat Chrysler performed versus what Wall Street expected, based on average analysts’ estimates compiled by Refinitive.
- Adjusted EPS: A loss of 77 cents (65 euro cents) per share versus a loss of $1.36 (1.15 euros) per share expected.
- Revenue: $13.88 billion (11.71 billion euros) versus $17.54 billion (14.78 billion euros) expected.
On a pretax adjusted basis, Fiat Chrysler reported a roughly $1.1 billion (928 million euros) loss in the second quarter. The automaker managed to report a profit of $46.2 million (39 million euros) for its North American operations. All others were in the red.
Shares of the Italian-American automaker were unchanged Friday during premarket trading. The stock closed Thursday at $10.50, down 3.9%.
Fiat Chrysler burned through $5.8 billion (4.9 billion euros) during the second quarter — a figure that’s being closely tracked by Wall Street.
The company’s global vehicle sales from April through June were down 63% to 424,000 units due to pandemic-related production stoppages and demand disruptions.
“While the company remains vigilant about the health and safety of employees, our plants are up and running, dealers are selling in showrooms and online, and we have the flexibility and financial strength to push ahead with our plans,” Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley said in a release.
The company has also taken several steps to shore up its balance sheet in recent months. It said it had $20.75 billion (17.5 billion euros) in liquidity in its automotive division at the end of the quarter. The Italian government also guaranteed $7.5 billion (6.3 billion euro) in loans to the automaker in late June, and $5.3 billion (4.5 billion euros) of that remains untapped, the company said.
Fiat Chrysler reconfirmed expectations to complete a 50-50 merger with French automaker PSA Group in the first quarter of next year, subject to board and regulatory approvals. The name of the merged company will be Stellantis.
Fiat Chrysler’s earnings follow its crosstown rivals, General Motors and Ford Motor, which both beat Wall Street’s earnings expectations in the second quarter.