GM has reported significantly improved preliminary first quarter results, including a narrower loss and increased revenue over year-ago levels.
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GM’s loss shrank to $323 million in the first quarter, or 57 cents a share, from $1.3 billion, or $2.22, in the year-earlier quarter. The latest loss included a charge of $681 million, or $1.20 a share, for a healthcare settlement for its retired workers. GM said special items of $206 million, or 37 cents, included a gain on the sale of its stake in Suzuki.
Reported revenue rose 14.1% to a record $52.2 billion in the first quarter of 2006.
GM yesterday reported strong sales performance in GM’s Asia Pacific and Latin America regions during the first three months of 2006 which helped General Motors sell more than 2.2 million vehicles globally, a 4.4% increase compared with the same period in 2005. GM sales outside of its North America region grew 15.9 percent (up 148,000 vehicles), more than twice the industry growth rate of 7.4 percent.
GM said its adjusted loss, including the health-care charge but excluding the special items, was $529 million, or 94 cents a share.
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By GlobalDataAnalysts polled by Thomson First Call forecast a loss, on average, of 44 cents a share on sales of $39.4 billion.
GM’s North America automotive business reported an adjusted loss of $946 million, including $484 million of the retiree health-care settlement. The loss narrowed from its adjusted loss of $1.5 billion a year ago.
General Motors has reported a strong start for its GMT900 lineup of SUVs and pickups. Sales of the Chevrolet Tahoe rose 20% from a year ago to 10,126 vehicles in March, while Escalade sales rose 45%.
“The first quarter represented an important milestone in GM and GM North America’s turnaround,” said GM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner.
“Not only did we see significant improvement in the financial results of all our automotive units, we also announced numerous additional actions to improve our North American competitiveness and liquidity. And, we made significant progress in implementing those and previously announced initiatives, such as the UAW health-care agreement and the North American capacity plan.
“We’re pleased to see the significant progress in our first-quarter results and in the implementation of all four elements of our North American turnaround plan,” Wagoner added.
“And we remain focused on accelerating our return to profitability and cash generation.”
GM Europe reported adjusted earnings of $88 million in the first quarter of 2006, a significant improvement from the year-ago loss of $92 million, reflecting improved pricing, continued progress in reducing structural and material costs, better mix and lower warranty and policy costs.
In addition, GM said that Saab showed significant financial improvement and sold more than 34,000 vehicles worldwide, an all-time first-quarter record.
“Our European turnaround plan moved into high gear in the first quarter,” Wagoner said. “Looking forward, we’ll continue to focus on that, as well as growing our multi-brand strategy in Europe and on important vehicle launches. The Cadillac BLS is arriving in dealerships now, followed by the Chevrolet Epica in June and the Opel Corsa and Chevrolet Captiva in the third quarter.”
