Citing weakness in the domestic auto industry and special charges, General Motors Corp. reported on April 30 a preliminary first-quarter loss of $3.3 billion dollars.
However, the first-quarter loss excluding special items narrowed more than expected. Excluding exceptional items, the automaker posted a loss of $350 million far better than market expectations. A year ago, those losses were $10 million.
Total revenue in the first quarter fell slightly to $42.7 billion from $43.4 billion on lower North America automotive and financial services and insurance revenue.
GM sold 2.25 million vehicles in the first quarter of 2008, down less than one percent from 2.27 million units a year ago.
GM also cut its 2008 U..S total industry seasonally adjusted annual rate outlook "to the mid to high 15 million unit range," down from the low 16 million unit range.
The automaker said it had combined earnings before taxes of one billion dollars in GM Latin America, Africa and Middle East (GMLAAM), GM Asia Pacific (GMAP) and GM Europe (GME), which more than offset a loss at GM North America. "We continue to leverage our global product portfolio to take advantage of tremendous growth in key emerging markets, while at the same time taking the appropriate actions to deal with the challenging economic conditions in the U.S.," said GM chairman and chief executive Rick Wagoner.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2008
