Fiat Posts 2Q Net Loss, Confirms 2009 Targets

Italy's Fiat SpA (F.MI), which has refrained from the latest bidding for Adam General Motors Corp.'s (GM) Adam Opel GmbH to focus on restructuring Chrysler LLC, Wednesday stuck to its 2009 targets despite posting a net loss on lower sales for the second quarter.

"We expect an improvement in the remainder of the year, as trading conditions stabilize and improve for most of our businesses," said the industrial group that manufactures the Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Lancia brands.

Its 2009 targets include a net profit of more than EUR100 million and a net industrial debt of less than EUR5 billion.

Fiat posted a net loss for the quarter ended June 30 of EUR179 million compared with a net profit of EUR646 million in the same period a year ago.

The loss was bigger than the median of forecasts of EUR110 million compiled from a survey of analysts by Fiat. Revenue fell 23% to EUR13.2 billion.

At 1010 GMT, Fiat's shares traded down 2.7% at EUR7.72, while the benchmark FTSE MIB index traded down 0.3%. The stock has gained 68% in value since the beginning of the year.

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