Chrysler losses widen at Daimler

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DaimlerChrysler has seen its profits rise in the first three months of 2007 but losses at its US Chrysler arm - which it is selling - have widened.

The German-US carmaker earned 1.97bn euros ($2.67bn; £1.3bn) in the period - helped by the sale of its 7.5% stake in Airbus parent company EADS.

However, the ailing Chrysler business lost $1.46bn euros.

On Monday, a US private equity firm agreed to buy a majority stake in Chrysler for $5.5bn.

Cerberus Capital Management is to take an 80.1% stake in the firm. The carmaker will keep a 19.9% share in Chrysler, which will meet pension and healthcare costs.

The losses seen at the company included a 914m euros charge associated with restructuring at the business - including 13,000 redundancies and several plant closures.

It also reflected "a decrease in Chrysler unit sales in the US and an unfavourable product and market mix", the company said.

Daimler's Mercedes Car division, home of the Mercedes-Benz brand, returned to profit while its trucks division also improved.