FCA Fourth-Quarter Net Earnings Sag 40%

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV reports that €1.1 billion in special charges cut its fourth-quarter net profit to €251 million ($273 million) from €420 million in the same period in 2014.

Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes surged to €1.6 billion ($1.8 billion) from €1.2 billion in October-December.

Unit shipments in the fourth quarter were flat at 1.21 million cars and trucks. But a richer sales mix, led by strong demand for pickup trucks and Jeep SUVs, boosted quarterly revenue 11% to €30.1 billion ($32.7 billion).

FCA’s year-on-year shipments for all of 2015 were unchanged at 4.61 million vehicles. Gains of 9% in North America and 12% in Europe were offset by one-third volume declines in Asia Pacific and Latin America.

The company’s full-year pretax profit, including Ferrari, climbed 40% to €5.3 billion ($5.8 billion) in 2015. Revenue rose 18% to €113.2 billion ($123 billion). Spinning off Ferrari at year-end reduced FCA’s net industrial debt to €5 billion ($5.4 billion) from €7.7 billion in 2014.

The company’s full-year net profit sagged to €377 million ($410 million) from €632 million in 2014. But FCA says adjusting for such special costs as recalls, capacity realignment in North America and currency fluctuations resulted in an adjusted net profit gain of 91% to €2 billion.

FCA predicts 2016 will see group revenue in excess of €110 billion, adjusted EBIT greater than €5 billion and adjusted net profit around €1.9 billion.

The company also affirms previous targets for 2018, including a 3% bump to €136 billion in its revenue forecast led by stronger U.S. demand for pickup trucks and SUVs.