GM’s turnaround strategy starts to pay off
General Motors reports fourth-quarter net income of $2.1bn versus a loss of $5.2bn a year earlier
Detroit — General Motors (GM) on Wednesday swung to a quarterly profit thanks to high-margin trucks and crossovers in the US market plus cost cutting and maintained its full-year 2019 earnings forecast, lifting its shares 1.5% in early trading. All of the leading US vehicle maker’s profit came from North America, where those lucrative models helped overcome an overall drop in the number of vehicles it sold. The company’s operations in China and South America added nothing to the company’s bottom line in the quarter. GM sold fewer vehicles in China in the fourth quarter and the company said that weak currencies in South America had also impacted its results. “Our outlook for China overall is for the auto industry to be flat year over year,” CFO Dhivya Suryadevara said. “If you take a look at some of these economic indicators coming out of China, there are early signs of stabilisation.” Buckingham Research analyst Joseph Amaturo said in a research note he remained concerned longer-ter...
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