GM posts $6B loss in Q1, burns through $10B

John Neff — Thu, 07 May 2009 12:34:00 EST

General Motors reported its first quarter earnings today, and the beleaguered U.S. automaker posted a $6 billion net loss compared to a net loss of $3.3 billion one year ago. At the same time, GM burned through $10.2 billion in cash during Q1, though still has $11.6 billion in cash reserves on hand thanks in large part to the $13.4 billion in loans that it's accepted from the U.S. government so far. Revenue was down in each of GM's regional operations, including North America, Europe, China and Latin America. Partly to blame is the global recession, though the dark cloud hanging over GM is surely responsible for scaring away buyers around the globe who aren't sure if the automaker will be around much longer. Regardless, GM is still plugging away at its revised Viability Plan, which is due in the U.S. Auto Task Force's hands by June 1st. Part of that plan is reducing the General's portfolio to just four core brands - Chevy, Cadillac, Buick and GMC - and adding Pontiac to the long list of brands it will jettison as soon as possible.

[Source: General Motors | Photo by Scott Olson/Getty ]

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GM posts $3.25 billion loss in Q1

John Neff — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 10:29:00 EST

Filed under: GM, Earnings/Financials

General Motors announced today that it recorded a net loss of $3.25 billion during the first quarter of 2008, but it looks worse than it is thanks to a $1.45 billion hit from its 49% stake in floundering GMAC. The two-month long American Axle strike also cost GM about $800 million, while further support of bankrupt supplier Delphi's restructuring took $731 million from the corporate coffers. These "headline numbers" don't look good, but GM's performance in the area of actually selling cars wasn't as bad as analysts expected, and the automaker's stock actually rose after these earnings were announced.

GM continued to do well in the business of selling cars in regions like Europe, Asia and Latin America, but the North American market continued to underperform. In North America, GM lost $812 million on revenue from sales of $24.5 billion, compared to a loss of $208 million last year on $28.1 billion of revenue. Aside from selling fewer vehicles, GM also lost 100,000 units of production thanks to the American Axle strike, which helped its market share slip from 22.5% last year to 21.7% in Q1 2008. Clearly the news isn't as good as it was, say, for Ford, but GM is virtually the only automaker being affected by the American Axle strike, and has a number of labor- and supplier-related issues to sort out before it can begin building a steady stream of its most popular models in North America.

[Source: GM, Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Continue reading GM posts $3.25 billion loss in Q1

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