Chrysler: First profit in 5 years

By Chris Isidore, senior writerMay 2, 2011: 7:26 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Chrysler Group on Monday reported its first quarterly profit since 2006, marking an important milestone in the turnaround in the U.S. auto industry.

The company, which went through a federal bailout and bankruptcy in 2009, earned $116 million in the first quarter, compared to a net loss of $197 million a year ago.

The last time Chrysler reported a profit was in the second quarter of 2006, when it was a unit of DaimlerChrysler.

Revenue soared 35% to $13.1 billion, as both sales volume and pricing improved. The company sold 18% more vehicles worldwide.

Chrysler is still privately held. The U.S. government owns nearly 9%, Italian automaker Fiat owns a controlling 30% stake and a United Auto Workers trust fund owns the majority. The company plans to again offer shares to the public later this year or early next year.

The company also announced plans last week to repay $5.8 billion in loans to the U.S. Treasury Department and another $1.7 billion to the Canadian government, which also participated in the 2009 bailout.

Chrysler will raise funds from banks and private investors to come up with money to repay those loans. But the profitable first quarter left it with $9.7 billion of cash on its books, an increase of $2.5 billion from the year-ago period.

Rival Ford Motor (F, Fortune 500) has already reported its financial results, posting its biggest first quarter profit since 1998. General Motors (GM) is due to report on Thursday, with analysts forecasting improved profits there as well.