(Adds Morchio, Demel comments)
By Jane Barrett and Stefano Rebaudo
MILAN, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Automaker Fiat expects to grab 29-30 percent of its key Italian market in January, but Chief Executive Giuseppe Morchio said on Tuesday he was more focused on profits than market share.
"I don't want market share to be our be all and end all. We are striving to relaunch our industrial business and make money. Winning market share is just a tool to help us do that," Morchio told reporters on the sidelines of a car prize ceremony.
Fiat and its Lancia and Alfa Romeo marques won 27.6 percent of the Italian market in December, falling short of a forecast for around 30 percent. A top executive earlier said Fiat should account for 29-30 percent of Italian new car sales this month.
Since Morchio took over as head of Fiat a year ago, he has focused Italy's largest industrial group back on its historic car business, relying on new models like the Panda small hatchback to return to group operating breakeven this year.
Since its launch in September, Fiat has received 130,000 orders for the Panda, up from 120,000 in early January. It aims to sell 200,000 Pandas in Europe this year.
Morchio said orders for the Lancia Ypsilon, launched last year, were "good" and confirmed that fourth-quarter results, due out on February 27, showed signs of a turnaround.
"We still have a lot to do but we are confident we will be able to meet the targets that have been set," Herbert Demel, who took over as Fiat Auto CEO in November, told Reuters. Fiat Auto is due to hit operating breakeven in 2005.
Fiat slid into its worst ever crisis two years ago as sales of ageing models slowed and the cost of diversification weighed.
Fiat sold part of its stake in Italenergia, the holding company that controls power group Edison, to help fund its turnaround and has options allowing it to buy the shares back -- or sell the rest of its stock -- from early 2005.
"We will look carefully at our debt and decide what to do at that time," Morchio said.
Morchio would not be drawn on where Fiat sees the euro against the dollar, but said a stronger euro was hitting its business -- by forcing its main rivals to be ever more competitive and by making cars imported from dollar economies cheaper.
Fiat shares were up 1.4 percent at 1349 GMT, outperforming the DJ Stoxx auto index , which was 0.8 percent higher.