Chrysler says exceeding financial targets

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Chrysler LLC on Friday called recent media reports about its financial picture inaccurate, saying the auto maker is exceeding most financial targets heading into 2008.

The company issued a statement after the Wall Street Journal reported that the company has slipped into a serious financial crunch just four months after Cerberus Capital Management LP rescued the auto maker.

The newspaper said Chrysler Chairman and Chief Executive Robert Nardelli recently told employees the company is headed for a substantial loss this year and is scrambling to sell assets to raise cash.

But in a statement, Nardelli said the company has ample liquidity and is fully funded with working capital to meet present and future goals.

"Chrysler is not only meeting, but, in many cases, exceeding its financial targets heading into 2008," Nardelli said.

In a 13-hour meeting this week with parent company Cerberus, Chrysler's 2008 plan was unanimously approved, Nardelli said.

A statement by Cerberus Chief Operating Officer Mark Neporent said Cerberus' underwriting had "assumed, and fully planned, that Chrysler would incur losses in the near term."

"Chrysler is already on track to exceed its multi-year restructuring and recovery plan on virtually all key metrics," he added.

In an effort to make its operations leaner, Nardelli said the company was eliminating four products from its lineup, and taking volume-related reductions at several North American assembly and powertrain plants, as previously disclosed.

Nardelli said last month that Chrysler could cut more jobs next year above the approximately 23,000 jobs it has already planned to slash.

Industry experts say 2008 will be the U.S. auto industry's worst year in more than a decade.

(Additional reporting by Tim McLaughlin)

(Reporting by Alexandria Sage, editing by Richard Chang)