Italian car maker Fiat today forecast a net profit of between €200m and €300m in 2010 and said it made an operating profit of €1.1 billion last year.
The car maker announced a net loss of €848m in 2009 compared with a profit of €1.721 billion the previous year.
The loss is the first for the Italian icon since its return to profit in 2005 under its dynamic new boss Sergi Marchionne, credited with turning the company around after four years in the red in a row.
The group forecast a net profit of between €200-300m in 2010, 'subject to continued availability of eco-incentives in the European automotive market,' it said.
Schemes such as 'cash-for-clunkers' bonuses for swapping in petrol-guzzling cars for more fuel-efficient models will help Fiat achieve a turnover of between €52-53 billion, Fiat said in a statement.
Without such programmes, turnover would be some €2.5 billion less, it said.
The Italian group put the loss down to restructuring costs and write-downs related to the strategic realignment with Chrysler' last year, when the Italian group obtained a 20% stake in the ailing US car maker in exchange for access to Fiat technology.
Fiat posted a fourth-quarter 2009 loss of €283m compared with a net profit of €180m a year earlier.
'After a particularly difficult 2009, with uneven trading conditions across the group's international scope of operations, 2010 is positioning itself as a year of transition and stabilisation,' the statement said.
