Tax benefits drive up Chrysler 4Q net earnings

Chrysler Group's fourth-quarter net income more than quadrupled to USD 1.62 billion, aided by USD 962 million in one-time tax benefits.
Without the benefits, the company made USD 659 million, still 74 per cent more than a year ago.
Chrysler's performance helped to prop up Fiat, its Italian owner, which made USD 345 million excluding one-time items. Without earnings from Chrysler, Fiat would have lost USD 321 million.
Fiat owned 58.5 per cent of Chrysler last year. It has since bought the rest from a trust fund that pays health care bills for union retirees.
Chrysler's 10th-straight profitable quarter came because of strong US sales of Ram pickups and Jeep Grand Cherokees.

For the full year, Chrysler made USD 1.8 billion excluding tax benefits, its best performance since leaving bankruptcy in 2009.