The Fiat Group’s Q3 financial performance has, as expected, highlighted the contrast between improving profitability at Chrysler and the challenges for the Fiat business in EMEA, where the EBIT loss in the latest quarter of 2012 was €219m (US$283m), up considerably from the €136m loss reported in Q3 2011. Excluding unusual items, the loss was €195m in Q3 2012, compared to a loss of €76m in Q3 2011. In contrast, year-to-date revenue at Chrysler was €37,969m and EBIT was €2,595m, a margin of 6.8%.
With regard to the remainder of 2012, Fiat has confirmed that its expectations of performance in North America, Latin America and Asia-Pacific remain on track but it has become more cautious about Europe, noting: “Events of the past 12 months have reinforced our negative view of the development of the European markets.” Fiat’s expectation is for continued “weak trading conditions in the remainder of 2012 extending well into 2013 and at least part of 2014.” On this basis, the OEM has refocused its existing earnings guidance for 2012 to the lower end of its original target range with net industrial debt expected to improve from the Q3 level to approximately €6.5bn, against the original target of €5.5bn to €6.0bn. Estimated revenue is now about €83bn (“over €77bn” previously), estimated trading profit is in excess of €3.8bn (between €3.8bn and €4.5bn) and net profit is forecast to be in excess of €1.2bn (between €1.2bn and €1.5bn).
Group revenue in the Q3 2012 period totalled €20,437m (Fiat ex Chrysler €8,490m), against €17,552m (€8,813m) in Q3 2011, a rise of 16% (9% at constant exchange rates), taking the year-to-date total to €62,182m (€26,415m), compared to €39,915m (€28,013m), a decrease of 6%.
Trading profit totalled €951m in the latest quarter (Fiat ex Chrysler €105m), versus €851m (€295m), taking the total in the first nine months of 2012 to €2,827m (€243m), versus €1,627m (€921m). EBIT in the latest quarter was €880m (€61m), against €825m (€260m) in Q3 2011, with the year-to-date figure at €2,770m (€175m), compared with €2,707m (€2,215m).
Net industrial debt for the group at 30 September 2012 was €6.7bn, an increase of €1.3bn for the quarter, with €1.4bn negative cash flow for Fiat excluding Chrysler, in line with last year and taking its net industrial debt to €5.5bn as of quarter-end, and €0.1bn positive cash flow for Chrysler reducing its net industrial debt to €1.2bn.
In NAFTA, vehicle shipments in Q3 2012 totalled 504,000, 23% up on Q3 2011, and revenue was €10,759m, up 38% (+22% in US$ terms), driven by the higher volumes. Third quarter 2012 EBIT was €664m (margin of 6.2%), versus the Q3 2011 total of €403m (5.2%). 9M 2012 shipments totalled 1,572,000, up 19%, while revenue was €32,113m (€24,638m, pro forma). EBIT was €2,089m, versus €1,194m pro forma in the first nine months of 2011.
LATAM shipments in the third quarter of 2012 rose 14% year-on-year to 271,000 units, while revenue was €2,955m, versus €2,853m. EBIT in the latest quarter was €310m (margin of 10.5%), compared with €397m (13.9%). 9M 2012 shipments totalled 712,000, a 3% increase on a pro forma basis, while revenue was €8,166m versus €8,319m pro forma. EBIT was €783m, versus €1,055m.
APAC reported Q3 2012 shipments of around 26,000, 13% up on a pro-forma basis from Q3 2011 (23,000), with revenue of €830m, up from the Q3 2011 total of €599m. Q3 2012 EBIT was €74m (8.9%), against €20m (3.3%) in Q3 2011. 9M 2012 shipments totalled 77,000, up from 55,000 (pro forma) in 9M 2011, with revenue up from €1,506m to €2,307m. EBIT was €219m, versus €74m.
Performance in EMEA remains at the heart of the Fiat Group’s current concerns. Shipments of cars and LCVs in Q3 2012 totalled 203,000, a decrease of around 36,000 units (15%) over Q3 2011, primarily reflecting weaker performance in Italy, France and Germany. Net revenue was €3,820m, versus €4,383m in the previous year while the EBIT loss was €219m compared with a loss of €136m in the previous year. 9M 2012 shipments totalled 764,000, versus 891,000 in the first nine months of 2011, while revenue was €13,248m, against €14,549m. The 9M 2012 EBIT loss was €573m, versus €652m.
The luxury and performance cars activities reported Q3 2012 revenue of €667m (Ferrari €556m before eliminations and Maserati €148m), against €640m in Q3 2011 (Ferrari €525m, Maserati €142m), with EBIT of €89m (Ferrari €81m, Maserati €8m), versus €87m (Ferrari €77m, Maserati €8m). 9M 2012 revenue was €2,105m, against €1,948m and EBIT was €264m, versus €239m.
Components and Production Systems reported Q3 2012 revenue of €1,951m, down €8m from Q3 2011’s €1,959m, and EBIT eased to €38m, versus €58m in Q3 2011. 9M 2012 revenue was €5,988m, against €6,060m, while EBIT was €121m (loss of €152m).
