MILAN (AP) — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles on Thursday raised its revenue forecast after strong sales in North American and a recovery in the European market boosted second-quarter profits by 70 percent.

The rosy results come as the carmaker will be required to pay millions of dollars to get potentially defective Ram pickups and older Jeeps off the road under a deal with safety regulators to settle allegations of mishandling nearly two dozen recalls. The company said in a presentation to analysts Thursday that it didn't expect the Ram buyback offer to cost more than $20 million.

Fiat Chrysler reported its net profit in the three months ending June 30 was 333 million euros ($364 million), compared with 197 million euros in the same period last year.

It said it was raising its revenue forecast to 110 billion euros from 108 billion euros, on worldwide shipments of 4.8 million units, at the low end of the previous range. It maintained its net profit forecast of between 1 billion euros and 1.2 billion euros.

Shares rose 5.2 percent to 13.91 euros in Milan trading.

Although the Ram buyback offer potentially covered 585,000 trucks with faulty steering components, Fiat Chrysler said it already has repaired 410,000, and those customers aren't eligible for the buybacks. That leaves about 175,000 trucks eligible for repurchase at the original sales price minus depreciation, plus a 10 percent premium.

In an consent agreement with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced last weekend, FCA was assessed a record $105 million penalty for recall problems including delays in notifying customers, distributing parts and notifying NHTSA of problems. It must pay a $70 million civil fine, plus make $20 million in safety-related improvements. Another $15 million would be assessed if the company violates the agreement.

CEO Sergio Marchionne said the company will pay the $70 million shortly, and said the buyback costs can be included in the $20 million. "We do not expect to incur any material cost beyond the $20 million available under the consent order," Marchionne said Thursday.

He said the company notified customers on time 98 percent of the time. "That's not an excuse and we must and will do better about this," he said. "We need to achieve 100 percent. There are no questions and no excuses in connection with this objective."

Marchionne denied reports that Fiat Chrysler has delayed vehicles and will have few new ones in North America, which has been the company's biggest profit center. But he said the product portfolio has always been fluid.

"What we have not wavered on is the development of both powertrains and basic (vehicle) architectures. That has continued unabated," he said.

Marchionne also said he did not think contract talks with the United Auto Workers union in the U.S. would go past the Sept. 14 expiration date of the current deal. He said talks have been constructive so far.

The carmaker said North American sales volumes were up 8 percent, boosted by the Jeep Renegade and new Chrysler 200, pushing net revenues in the region up by 40 percent. European volumes were up 12 percent, boosting revenues 19 percent.

Latin American volumes, meanwhile, sank by a third due to weak economic conditions in Brazil and Argentina. Asian sales also slipped, by 15 percent, due to increased competition in China, although revenues were in line with a year earlier.

Group net revenues were up by a quarter to 29.2 billion euros.

Fiat Chrysler is planning a public listing of a 10 percent share in the luxury sportscar maker Ferrari in the fourth quarter, an effort to raise capital to fund its business plan. CEO Sergio Marchionne also has been vocal about the need for another round of consolidation in the auto industry, but hasn't yet found another CEO willing to risk a big merger.

Ferrari's revenues were up 5 percent on higher volumes, while Maserati's slipped 17 percent as demand dropped for the Ghibli and Quattroporte models.

____

Krisher reported from Detroit.