Chrysler 2003 Annual Report Download - page 5

4
Report on Operations
at year-end are the first tangible benefits of the actions undertaken
for the industrial and financial relaunch of the Fiat Group.
The gains made are all the more significant considering
that, in 2003, the Fiat Group underwent the most profound
transformation in its history while confronting major external
challenges.
The Company’s financial and industrial crisis was tackled in
an international environment characterized by weak economic
growth, political instability and intensified competition.
The Group, working with determination to overcome these
challenges, adopted a clear strategy focused on relaunching
its automotive businesses. This approach won the full support
of the Group’s lending banks and, more generally, the entire
Italian business establishment.
The painful but necessary choice to dispose of some of the
Group’s operations, coupled with a capital increase and other
financial transactions, generated over 9 billion euros in liquidity.
Overview
Dear Stockholders,
The 2003 results were a net loss of 1.9 billion euros,
compared with 4.2 billion euros a year earlier. The progress
we have made underscores that we are on the way to recovery
and confirms the effectiveness of the tools we have chosen.
The 2003 fiscal year can be divided into two distinct
periods: the first nine months, during which the Group’s
performance was penalized by the consequences of the
difficult situation encountered in 2002, but reflected a
significant improvement in cost containment, and the closing
quarter, when all indicators of the operating and financial
performance showed clear signs of a turnaround, as the
Group began to benefit from the introduction of new models.
This improvement enabled us to begin 2004 with strong
momentum, which is reflected in the results for the first
three months of the current year.
The sizable reduction in operating and net loss and the
improvement in the result before taxes and net financial position