Stock Market Watch

GM Profits Betters Wall Street Estimates, But Europe Disappoints

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General MotorsGeneral Motors (NYSE: GM) announced its fiscal first quarter results on Thursday. The Company reported its net income dropped sharply in the first quarter, largely due to losses in Europe which is grappling under severe economic crisis and a huge accounting charge.

However, the results turned out better than expected as its operations in North America showed strong performance.


The Company said that it earned $1 billion, or 60 cents per share, in the first quarter, against earnings of $3.2 billion, or $1.77 per share, a year earlier, when earnings were boosted by the sale of GM’s stake in a parts company.

In the previous quarter, GM lost $256 million before taxes in Europe even as Company had to account for a charge of $590 million due to a change in its European pension values.

Commenting over its operations in Europe, GM’s Chief Financial Officer, Dan Amman, said, “There won’t be any “big bang” action to return Europe to profitability, It’s an ongoing set of actions.”

However, GM results got a solid boost from its market in Americas. While the Company earned $1.7 billion before taxes in North America, it posted an $83 million profit in South America.

Meanwhile, GM’s revenues leaped 4% to $37.8 billion.

After excluding onetime charge, Company’s earnings stood at 93 cents a share in the first quarter. The results were far better than markets expectations of 85 cents a share on revenue of $37.9 billion.

Yesterday’s result was GM’s sixth successive quarterly profit, since its initial public stock offering in November 2010.

 

 

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edliston
Post Written By: Ed Liston

Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.


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Ed Liston

Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing.

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