It’s been a tough decade and a half for Chrysler, but the Auburn Hills-based automaker looks to be solidly on the path to recovery.
According to the Detroit Free Press, Chrysler will report a net profit for 2011 when the company’s annual financial results are announced on Wednesday. That achievement will mark the first time Chrysler has finished a full year in the black since 1997.
It remains to be seen just how big Chrysler’s net profit will be, but company CEO Sergio Marchionne has previously stated that he expects the final figure to be around $600 million. That’s a far cry from the billion-dollar profits at GM and Ford, but is a solid step forward for a company that was on the brink of financial ruin just over two years ago.
Chrysler’s share of the U.S. market rose to 10.7 percent last year, and its fourth quarter sales were up 36 percent during the fourth quarter. Chrysler now employs 57,200 people – up from 47,800 when the company exited bankruptcy in 2009.
