Washington: Ailing car maker Chrysler, the US' third largest, projects it will be back in the black by 2012 if it gets through bankruptcy quick enough and seals its deal with Italy's Fiat, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
The journal cited documents filed in a Manhattan bankruptcy court, Chrysler's last resort after failing to prove to the US government that it was financially viable.
The company lost $16.8 billion in 2008 and expects to lose $4.7 billion in 2009, the documents showed.
In the court documents, Chrysler said it expected to earn $100 million in 2012; $1.6 billion in 2013; and $3 billion by 2016.
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Chrysler won interim approval from a US bankruptcy court to access a $4.5 billion loan as it tried to move ahead in its planned alliance with Fiat SpA, while the Italian automaker advanced its bid for General Motors Corp's European Opel brand.
Also, a group of investment funds sought on Monday to block Chrysler's plans with Fiat while United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger said a union-aligned healthcare trust would work quickly to sell shares it would receive in a new Chrysler as soon as it in a position to do so.
The UAW healthcare trust, which is likely to receive a 55 percent stake in a new Chrysler under a sale plan the automaker filed with the US Bankruptcy Court, would be very stressed initially through its acceptance of Chrysler equity for part of the funding of the trust.
A bankruptcy judge approved Chrysler's request to access the funds from US and Canadian governments, known as debtor-in-possession financing, as well as requests for the company to pay essential suppliers, dealers and its taxes. Chrysler also had asked the US Bankruptcy Court on Monday for a swift hearing into its planned sale of its best assets into a new company owned by its union, Fiat and the government, eliciting immediate objections from some dissenting secured lenders.
The dissenting lenders led by Oppenheimer Funds and Stairway Capital argued in a New York bankruptcy court that the sale proposal was "orchestrated entirely by the US Treasury and foisted upon the debtors."
A lawyer for the group, Tom Lauria, said some identified publicly in the politically charged reorganisation have received death threats "which they perceive as being bona fide."
Those lenders have notified police and the FBI, he said. President Barack Obama called the dissenters "speculators" in public criticism last week for refusing to join Chrysler's biggest banks in a government-brokered deal to wipe out Chrysler's $6.9 billion debt and move forward with the Fiat alliance.
Chrysler asked US Judge Arthur Gonzalez to schedule a hearing as soon as May 21 to approve a $2 billion sale of most of the automaker's assets. The judge adjourned a hearing on the request until 2:30 p.m. EDT (1830 GMT) on Tuesday. "Absent a prompt sale, approved in the coming weeks, the value of the debtors' assets will rapidly decline and the ability to achieve a going concern sale will be lost," Chrysler said in court documents supporting the sale to Fiat.
Chrysler's bankruptcy, one of the biggest US company bankruptcies ever, is widely seen as almost a dry run for a potential reorganization of GM. The No.1 US-based automaker, which like Chrysler is surviving on government bailout money, faces its own restructuring deadlines on June 1 and is trying to restructure its business in the US and overseas.
This includes the potential sale of its German-based Opel unit, possibly to Fiat. But Fiat's interest in the brand has a rival. Canadian parts maker Magna International Inc confirmed it was in talks with GM and the German government about taking a minority stake in Opel.
(With inputs from IANS, Reuters)
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