GM earns first profit in 3 years on cuts, redesigns

Posted May 17, 2010 at 7:55 a.m.

GM-Detroit.jpgGeneral Motors’ headquarters in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, file)

Associated Press | General Motors Co. rode expense cuts from its
bankruptcy and strong sales of redesigned models to its first quarterly net income in nearly three years.

The $865 million first-quarter profit is a dramatic reversal from the huge $6 billion loss in the same period last year. The last time the company made a quarterly profit was the second quarter of 2007, when it earned $891 million.

The Detroit automaker said it made money because debt and other expenses were slashed by its stay in bankruptcy court, and because of strong new-model sales. It also generated higher revenue from fast growth in Asia and South America.

The earnings of $1.66 per share from January through March are stunningly different from the first quarter of last year, when the largest U.S. automaker lost $9.78 per share as it skidded toward bankruptcy protection.

First-quarter revenue soared 40 percent to $31.5 billion.

New models such as the Chevrolet Equinox small sport utility vehicle and the Buick LaCrosse luxury sedan lifted GM’s North American operations to a $1.2 billion profit, compared with a $3.4 billion loss in the year-earlier quarter. North America had been a continual drain on GM’s profits before its bankruptcy filing last year.

CEO Ed Whitacre has predicted a full-year profit as U.S. auto sales continue their slow recovery. That could lead to a public stock offering late in the year and full repayment of the $50 billion in U.S. government aid that stopped GM from going under last year.

The U.S. government now owns 61 percent of the company.

 

11 comments:

  1. ministerR May 17, 2010 at 8:14 a.m.

    How many cars have been sold by quarter before during and after bankruptcy?

  2. I won't buy government owned crap May 17, 2010 at 8:59 a.m.

    GM is owned and run by the government. So is the Post Office, the DMV, the social security and employment offices. And we ALL know about the inefficiency and the lack of quality of THOSE institutions. I guess that’s the reason I will never buy General Motors auto now. The government has screwed that up too.

  3. aporte May 17, 2010 at 9:40 a.m.

    GMs accounting with Fed assistance would make Enron look ethical.

  4. worsethanbefore May 17, 2010 at 10:36 a.m.

    All good Americans should boycott GM for the way
    obama and goverment motors screwed the bond holders.
    All you new GM buyers beware, I’m going to go out of
    my way to hit your doors or spray Coke on your communist
    vehicles.
    I would also like to see Americans boycott all
    sanctuary cities like Chicago, LA and San Francisco until
    they abide by the current laws.

  5. Jeff May 17, 2010 at 10:44 a.m.

    “I guess that’s the reason I will never buy General Motors auto now. ” The naysayers are becoming so predictable. They’re the same people who moan and groan about U.S. jobs going overseas and being owned by the Chinese.
    They are either bots or Commies in China hacking into our blogs. They can’t be Americans!

  6. dave from Indy May 17, 2010 at 10:56 a.m.

    Government Motors will prove to be just the same junk as General Motors.
    Buy a real American Made car….Toyota!

  7. JOHN C May 17, 2010 at 11:05 a.m.

    They make money by asking for bailouts and then pretend they are profitable.
    Boycott BP = british petroleum( bad people) for lake pollution and general disregard for any american ecology protection.

  8. Norm Silver May 17, 2010 at 11:21 a.m.

    Feel good American taxpayers. Their profits are your hard earned money in their pockets. Wonderful system, huh?

  9. ministerR May 17, 2010 at 12:45 pm

    We get 61% of what profit? The fake profit is not from actually selling and making a profit on cars it comes from the savings on the interest on debt.
    The profit can’t be realized until all the money is paid back. They day the “happens” and they can show the made even a penny above the money we lent them – then I will concede there was a profit.
    Can you think for yourself at all? I bet you actually still believe they paid back $6 billion dollars huh? Despite the FACT they borrowed the $6 billion from another tax payer loan. Which was in a effect a restructuring of the what the 5 the bail-out loan.
    ***
    RW replied to comment from Norm Silver | May 17, 2010 12:29 PM | Reply
    Norm Silver, taxpayers own 61% of GM. Therefore we get 61% of the profits. So it is our hard earned money back into our pockets and jobs were saved for other hard working people in the process. Seems like a win-win to me.

  10. ministerR May 17, 2010 at 12:47 pm

    When i learn to type, spell and check my grammar I will return – sorry for that last unreadable post.

  11. RomanB May 17, 2010 at 1:04 pm

    Looks like teabaggers know more then American capitalists since it’s impossible for a socialist takeover by Obama of GM to turn a profit. Wonder what teabaggers will call the full payback of the bailout by GM.