GM 3Q earnings fall, but beat Street forecasts

General Motors' third-quarter net income fell by 53 per cent compared with a year ago, as one-time expenses masked a strong performance in North America and a narrowed loss in Europe.
The company earned USD 698 million in the quarter, compared with USD 1.48 billion a year ago. But without USD 900 million in one-time items, GM earned USD 1.7 billion or 96 cents per share that beat Wall Street's expectations.
The company's revenue rose by 4 per cent to USD 39 billion, just short of Wall Street's estimate of USD 39.2 billion.
Investors viewed the results favourably. GM shares rose by 87 cents or 2.4 per cent, to USD 36.93 in morning trading.

GM's performance in North America was especially strong, with pretax earnings up by 28 per cent to USD 2.2 billion on solid pickup truck sales and better pricing. GM rolled out updated versions of its Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups in the spring.
The company's profit margin in North America was the highest in two years at 9.3 per cent. GM has a goal of 10 per cent pretax margins in the region.

"The new trucks are doing great in the marketplace," Chief Financial Officer Dan Ammann said.
GM's average sales price rose by 1 per cent in the US during the quarter to USD 34,566 according to Kelley Blue Book sales of the Silverado, its top-selling vehicle, were up by 14 per cent over last year's third quarter.

In Europe, GM cut its loss by more than half to USD 214 million. Ammann said the company cut USD 400 million in costs during the quarter and updated versions of its Opel Mokka small crossover SUV, Adam subcompact and Insignia mid size car sold well.
GM's international operations, including Asia, saw pretax earnings fall by 61 per cent to USD 299 million due to struggles in India, Australia and Southeast Asia.
South American profit rose by 79 per cent to USD 284 million. The company's financial unit saw a 20 per cent rise in pretax earnings to USD 239 million.

One-time items included USD 800 million to buy preferred stock from a health care trust for union retirees and a USD 48 million impairment charge in South Korea.