General Motors disappoints with outlook as Opel losses improve
GENERAL MOTORS yesterday offered investors a disappointing outlook for the upcoming six months in North America, raising questions about the US economy’s recovery.
While the world’s largest carmaker posted a first-quarter profit that surpassed forecasts, the outlook for its core market fell short of expectations.
“We’re clearly seeing some improvement in the economy,” finance chief Dan Ammann said.
Excluding one-time items mostly related to pension accounting in Europe, GM reported a profit of 93 cents per share. Net income fell to $1bn, or 60 cents a share, from $3.1bn, or $1.77 a share, in the same quarter a year earlier. Last year’s quarter included a one-time gain of $1.5bn from the sale of stakes in Delphi and Ally.
Europe, which has struggled to return to profit, saw a $256m loss. But that was an improvement on the previous quarter’s $562m loss.
CEO Dan Akerson said he hopes to provide details of a turnaround plan for GM’s Opel unit in the next few months.