General Motors see mixed results boosted by Lyft shares
General Motors (GM) beat analysts’ profit expectations today after its figures were boosted by a revaluation of the shares it holds in ride-hailing firm Lyft.
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The giant US car manufacturer achieved an adjusted first-quarter profit of $2.02bn (£1.55bn), pushing earnings to $1.43 per share. In the same quarter a year earlier GM’s profit was £2.04bn and earnings per share were $1.43.
The numbers beat analysts’ consensus expectations of earnings per share of $1.11.
GM’s shares in Lyft, the taxi app which had its IPO in March, gave its earnings a $0.31 boost in the first quarter of the year. The firm invested more than $500m in Lyft in 2016.
GM suffered a seven per cent decline in new vehicle sales in the US and a sales drop in China of nearly 20 per cent in the first three months of 2019.
Shares in the company had fallen 2.5 per cent by 5.30pm UK time to stand at $38.99.
Mary Barra, chief executive of the Detroit-based firm, said: GM's first-quarter operating results were in line with expectations we shared in January.”
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“My confidence in the year ahead remains strong, driven by our all-new full-size truck launch and our ongoing business transformation,” she said.