Currency losses hit GM fourth quarter profits

By Bernie Woodall

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co on Tuesday said fourth quarter net income fell to $1.19 a share, factoring out one-time items, in part because of $500 million in foreign exchange losses, and the company forecast 2017 profits per share would be flat to slightly up from 2016.

GM said fourth quarter net income fell to $1.8 billion from $6.3 billion, or $3.92 a share, a year earlier. Factoring out one-time items, GM said it earned $2.4 billion, or $1.28 a share, in the latest quarter, down 14 percent from a year earlier. The adjusted result beat analyst expectations of $1.17 per share.

GM forecast adjusted earnings per share for all of 2017 would range between $6.00 and $6.50 a share, compared to $6.12 a share for all of 2016.

(Reporting by Bernie Woodall and Joseph White; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)