Chrysler Group LLC is expected to announce continued operating profit when it reports its second-quarter earnings Monday, reported The Detroit News.

The Auburn Hills, Mich. automaker lost $197 million in the first quarter, but surprised the industry with an operating profit of $143 million.

Sergio Marchionne, chief executive of Chrysler as well as partner Fiat SpA, has said there will be more good news from the second quarter results.

General Motors Co. also will report second-quarter earnings this week. CEO Edward Whitacre Jr. said the company will report an "impressive" profit.

Whitacre on Thursday hinted that GM would top its first-quarter $865 million profit. He said the company will be "solidly profitable" the rest of the year.

Chrysler's Marchionne in May said the carmaker may raise its 2010 forecasts in the third quarter if sales continue to improve -- they were up 5 percent in July. He said one closely watched barometer is sales of the new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee, which has seen enough initial demand that Chrysler added a second shift at Detroit's Jefferson North plant in July.

Few expect Chrysler to post a net profit Monday, so soon after a net loss of $3.785 billion in 2009.

"I think it's safe to say we're looking at operating profit, not net profit," said Joe Phillippi of AutoTrends Consulting Inc. in Short Hills, N.J.

Operating profit from Chrysler "is consistent with what we are hearing from all the Detroit automakers," said Stephen Brown, senior director of corporate finance for Fitch Ratings in Chicago. "They are all generating operating profit at this level."

Any figures in the black are an accomplishment for a company that was in dire straits a year ago and forced to declare bankruptcy to shed debt. The automaker relied on government assistance to emerge from Chapter 11 and form a new company with Fiat.

When Marchionne took over, he was surprised to find much of Chrysler's product development work had ceased. He is promising that 75 percent of the lineup will be refreshed this year, with most of the new or upgraded models hitting the market at the end of the year.

"This is a company that has not been able to recover in the traditional sense," said Rebecca Lindland, director of auto research for IHS Automotive in Lexington, Mass.

Chrysler has had to rely on fleet sales in the absence of flashy all-new vehicles automakers usually leverage, Lindland said.

"The fact they are even able to utter the word 'profit' in the last 12 months shows the tremendous contribution of the people who work there and operational discipline," she said.

Chrysler has a huge portfolio of products to renew, said Phillippi.

"All-new, dramatically different stuff in the pipeline will drive investor and rating agency perception and the bottom line," said Phillippi.

Working in Chrysler's favor is shared product development with Fiat, which reduces cost substantially for Chrysler to get new cars on the market.