FRANKFURT, Germany — Automaker Stellantis said Wednesday that it made 13.4 billion euros ($15.2 billion) in its first year after it was formed from the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group and would pay out record profit-sharing checks to unionized U.S. workers.
The earnings nearly tripled profits compared with its pre-merger existence as two separate companies, as the maker of Jeep, Opel and Peugeot vehicles exploited cost efficiencies from combining the businesses.
The result compared to a combined 4.79 billion euros for the separate companies in 2020 before the merger, which took effect on Jan. 17, 2021. Revenue for the combined business rose 14%, to 152 billion euros.
The company also announced that its 43,000 U.S. workers represented by the United Auto Workers union will get profit-sharing checks of $14,670. It’s the highest payment since profit-sharing began 35 years ago. The checks, based on North America financial performance and hours worked by employees, will go out March 11. The company’s North American adjusted operating income was $11.36 billion euros ($12.9 billion), up 16.3% from 2020.