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Fiat Chrysler second quarter net profit falls sharply as Latam, tax charges weigh

MILAN (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler on Wednesday reported a sharp fall in second-quarter net profit as a better performance from its luxury brands and its Asia and European operations failed to offset persistent weakness in Latin America.

The Italian carmaker, which is finalising a merger with Chrysler to create the world's seventh largest auto group, said net profit in the April-June period stood at 197 million euros (155 million pounds), down from 435 million euros in the same period last year. This compares with a consensus forecast of 282 million euros, based on a Reuters poll of six analysts.

The company said net profit was also hit by a 137 million euros increase in tax charges due to U.S. earnings now being subject to deferred taxes.

Second-quarter revenues rose to 23.3 billion euros from 22.3 billion the previous year, while net debt stood at 9.7 billion euros at the end of June, down from 9.996 billion at the end of March.

The company said it confirmed its full-year targets.



(Reporting by Agnieszka Flak)