Ford and Chrysler post decreasing profits in 2Q2011

U.S. automakers Ford and Chrysler released their second quarter sales Tuesday morning and both makers saw decreasing profit, but rising sales during the time period.

Ford Motor Co. saw its profits dip about 8 percent during 2Q2011 as commodity prices rose even after the company was able to pay off debt and invest in new vehicles. Ford earned $2.4 billion, or 59 cents a share compared to $2.6 billion, or 61 cents per share during 2Q2010. The company’s revenue jumped 13 percent to $35.5 billion.

"Despite an uncertain business environment, we further strengthened our balance sheet and continued to invest for the future," Ford Chief Executive Alan Mulally said in a statement.

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Chrysler Group LLC also posted a net loss of $370 million due to the repayment of government loans from the auto bailout, which cost the company a total of $551 million. The company would have seen a net profit of $181 million if the company didn’t make the payment. Revenues increased by 30 percent to $13.7 billion in 2Q2011, compared to the same period last year.

"There is no doubt that Chrysler Group has taken a huge step forward this quarter," Sergio Marchionne, chief executive of Chrysler and Fiat, said in a statement.