Fiat narrowed its losses for the second quarter running in July-September, but the car business that had dragged the Italian industrial group into crisis posted disappointing results and pulled its shares lower.
Fiat Auto today posted a third-quarter operating loss of €314 million, better than last year's €340 million loss but worse than the gloomiest analysts' estimate, which had forecast the unit would be €272 million in the red.
For the group, the third-quarter operating loss narrowed to €285 million ($333.6 million) from €339 million a year ago.
A steep slide in car sales and huge debts dragged Fiat into its worst-ever crisis last year, forcing a spate of asset sales and capital increases to fund a turnaround that aims to push the group to breakeven next year and Fiat Auto into the black in 2005.
Earlier this month, Fiat chief executive Giuseppe Morchio said the third quarter would only be "slightly better" than a year ago.
Fiat reiterated that two new cars that have come on sale in the last few weeks should allow the truck-to-components group to make a "significant improvement" in the fourth quarter and repeated that its full-year loss should narrow from last year's.
"The stock took a bit of a hit on the results, but the test starts now and our eyes have to be on what's left of this year and early 2004. For example, I doubt they can make their market share targets," said a Milan-based analyst.