Chrysler and Fiat get a new logo, Dutch incorporation, UK tax shelter

Chrysler Group reported an increase in earnings for the fourth quarter as the launch of the2014 Jeep Cherokee and higher U.S. sales helped the automaker to its third straight annual profit.

In a separate announcement today, Chrysler and Fiat said their combined company will be renamed Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV. It will be incorporated in the Netherlands, have a fiscal domicile in the U.K. for tax purposes, and have its primary listing on the New York Stock Exchange and secondary listing in Milan. The automakers' merger was announced Jan 1.

Chrysler's net income of $1.6 billion was aided by a onetime tax gain of $962 million, the company said in a statement. A year earlier, Chrysler netted $378 million.

Adjusted net income for the quarter was $659 million. Fourth-quarter revenue advanced 24 percent to $21.2 billion, helped in part because the automaker held over 25,000 Jeep Cherokees past the Oct. 1 start of the quarter to recalibrate their transmission software.

For all of 2013, Chrysler posted a net income of $2.8 billion, up 65 percent from the $1.7 billion annual profit posted in 2012. Adjusted net income for the year was $1.8 billion.

Revenue for 2013 was $72.1 billion, up 10 percent from $65.8 billion in 2012.

"The 2013 year-end financial results reflect the commitment Chrysler Group has made to rapidly refresh our product lineup with vehicles that achieve exacting performance standards," Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said in a statement.

In a letter today to Chrysler employees, Marchionne indicated that eligible unionized and salaried employees would receive a "performance award," but did not indicate the amounts. On Tuesday, Ford said its hourly workers would receive a record profit-sharing bonus of $8,800 -- up from $8,300 a year ago.

Rising market share

Chrysler's U.S. market share rose two-tenths of a percentage point to 11.6 percent in 2013 on U.S. sales of 1.8 million vehicles, according to the Automotive News Data Center. The automaker's U.S. sales were up 9 percent in 2013, buoyed by sales of its re-engineered pickup line and SUVs.

The Jeep Cherokee went on sale in the United States in late October after a two-month delay.

Globally, Chrysler said it delivered just over 2.6 million vehicles in 2013, including vehicles it makes for other automakers, primarily for parent company Fiat. The automaker said it had sales of 592,000 units during the fourth quarter, up 11 percent from the same period a year ago.

The company reported cash of $13.3 billion, up from $11.6 billion one year ago, and said it had a gross industrial debt of $12.3 billion at the end of 2013, down from the $12.6 billion it had at the same point in 2012.

This is the first time that Chrysler Group has reported more cash than debt since the company was created from its U.S. government-backed bankruptcy reorganization in 2009.

The article Chrysler posts Q4 net income of $1.6 billion with help of onetime tax gain originally appeared at Automotive News.

By Larry P. Vellequette- Automotive News