Stellantis beats forecasts despite supply snags

STORY: Carmaker Stellantis has battled through supply issues to post forecast-beating results.

The parent of Peugeot, Jeep, Fiat and other brands said Wednesday (February 22) that operating profits jumped 17% in the second half.

That took adjusted earnings to over $11.6 billion, about a billion ahead of analyst expectations.

The firm credited strong pricing for its vehicles.

And the gains come despite persistent issues with logistics and the supply of computer chips.

Stellantis said such factors were to blame for a 2% drop in vehicle shipments over the year.

Chief Financial Officer Richard Palmer said it remained hard to secure capacity for transporting cars to customers.

And he said the chip supply problem would not be fully resolved this year.

Stellantis was formed just over two years ago through the merger of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot-maker PSA.

The company says it has achieved cash synergies of around $7.5 billion.

That puts it ahead of schedule on cost-saving goals.

Stellantis shares rose over 1.5% in early European trade on Wednesday.