The Irish subsidiary of Italian car firm Fiat last year returned to profit for the first time since 2000.

Accounts for Fiat Group Automobiles Ireland Ltd – which distributes Fiat, Jeep and Alfa Romeo vehicles – show the firm recorded an operating profit of €558,000 for the year ended December 31st, 2014. This was against a €37,000 loss the previous year and a long line of previous losses that ran into several million euro.

The accounts show a turnover of €15.8 million, up from €12.9 million in 2013. The increased turnover came on the back of a recovery in new car sales across the sector – totalling 96,343 new registrations last year – although the firm’s share of the market was just 660 cars for all three of its brands, representing 0.69 per cent of the market.

Commercial vehicles

The firm’s light commercial vehicle sales reached 448 new registrations in 2014 a 42.2 per cent increase on the previous year.

So far this year, 123,513 new cars have been registered up to the end of October, with Fiat’s three brands totalling 752. The bulk of the sales remain Fiat 500 cars.

Employees rose by three to 11 last year, with staff costs up from €952,000 to €1.32 million. Director remuneration fell from €373,000 to €199,000. There was a one-off payment of €141,000 in 2013 in compensation for office to one directors.