GM may post record profit

GM employee Maurice Vauss inspects the fit and finish of a 2013 Chevy Malibu Eco.

By msnbc.com staff

Just three years after the automaker drove into government-run bankruptcy, requiring a massive taxpayer-funded bailout to keep it in business, General Motors is setting its sights on making over $10 billion a year, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper reports that GM is already on track to achieve that goal, citing company sources that the Journal said have seen the company’s 2011 fourth-quarter results, which are due to be reported next week. GM is set to report net income of about $8 billion, its highest ever, and nearly twice the prior year’s $4.7 billion figure, the newspaper said.

Growth in China and strong profits in North America, where GM has shed billions of dollars of costs and has been able to command higher prices, account for the improved quarterly income, the Journal reported.

On top of this quarterly gain, GM also aims to raise its profit margin — the portion of revenue left after paying expenses — from the current 6 percent level to 10 percent over the next several years, Daniel Ammann, chief financial officer, told the Journal. It would be the highest profit margin in the auto industry.

In 2009, losing billions of dollars and facing extinction, GM was forced to take a government bailout of about $50 billion and go through a government-run bankruptcy.

Is GM back? Discuss this story on Facebook.

You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Leave a Reply

Powered by WordPress | Designed by: Premium WordPress Themes | Thanks to Themes Gallery, Bromoney and Wordpress Themes