By Michelle Krebs

Fiat/Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne, in announcing the Italian manufacturer's return to  profitability in the second quarter, said he sees "substantial signs of economic recovery" across the globe.

All Fiat divisions were in the black, Marchionne said in a Webcast from Chrysler's Auburn Hills, Mich., headquarters. Fiat owns 20 percent of the American car company, which occurred during Chrysler's Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The strength of the second quarter - Fiat's first profitable quarter in the last three - came from higher sales of Iveco trucks and New Holland tractors, which offset lower car sales in Europe. In total, Fiat had lower vehicle sales but generated higher revenues thanks to dramatic cost cutting.

Thanks to a $145-million profit in the second quarter, the company will have full-year profits "significantly north" of the company's target, Marchionne said.