Chrysler LLC lost about $2.7 billion

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DETROIT - Chrysler LLC lost about $2.7 billion in the two months after Daimler AG sold controlling interest in the U.S. automaker to a New York private equity firm, Daimler said in its annual report yesterday.

The figure, for the period from Aug. 4 to Sept. 30, 2007, was calculated under international financial reporting standards used in Europe and not under U.S. accounting standards, Daimler said.

The loss includes about $466 million in expenses incurred in the fourth quarter of last year, including Chrysler restructuring costs and costs related to a new four-year contract with the United Auto Workers, Daimler said in its report, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Daimler reported that for the full year in 2007, Chrysler lost $1.2 billion when converted at the euro-to-dollar exchange rate that Daimler reported for the third quarter.

It was unclear how much of Chrysler's fourth-quarter results were included in the figure because neither Daimler nor Chrysler would answer questions about the report.

The figures, though, give a glimpse into how Chrysler has performed financially since Daimler sold 80.1 percent of the automaker to New York-based Cerberus Capital Management LP in August.

Chrysler now is a privately held company and is no longer required to report its earnings.
Daimler also said in its report that former Chrysler Chief Executive


LINK:toledoblade.com -- Chrysler lost $2.7 billion after buyout

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DETROIT, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Chrysler LLC on Thursday said a loss for the automaker as reported by minority owner Daimler AG (DAIGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) did not reflect its operating profitability during its first months as a private firm.

Daimler, which surprised analysts by including the detail on Chrysler's financial performance in its own annual report, retains a 19.1 percent stake in its former subsidiary.

The remainder of Chrysler is held by private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management.

Cerberus pledged at the takeover that its status as a private venture would allow the troubled automaker focus on operations rather than the range of disclosures demanded of public companies.

But at least three times in the six months since, Cerberus has issued statements defending Chrysler's performance in the face of information the firm has criticized as incomplete or misleading.

A Chrysler spokesman said the loss reported by Germany's Daimler as a minority investor included charges that would not have been reported under U.S. accounting standards. Those included one-time charges for Chrysler's restructuring, spokesman David Barnas said in a statement.

"In fact, from an operating standpoint, Chrysler was profitable during this time period," Barnas said. "Also Chrysler lost significantly less than what was reported during the course of the whole year." Continued...

Article Link:Cerberus says Daimler distorted Chrysler loss | Industries | Consumer Goods & Retail | Reuters

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CHICAGO/DETROIT (Reuters) - The Canadian Auto Workers called a strike on Thursday at a TRW Automotive Holdings Corp (TRW.N: Quote) plant in Windsor, Ontario, forcing the idling of a nearby Chrysler LLC plant that assembles the automaker's top-selling minivans.

Chrysler idled its Windsor Assembly plant at about 6 p.m. EST on Thursday and canceled overnight and Friday morning shifts at the plant employing about 4,400 hourly workers.

The Windsor Assembly Plant makes the Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Caravan, a pair of redesigned minivans that Chrysler needs to hold their own in a slumping auto market as it revamps its vehicle lineup and restructures its operations.

LINK:Strike against TRW forces Chrysler plant to idle | Business | Reuters