The automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) goes into the new year with confidence. On Tuesday, the US group promised a clearer increase in profit when submitting the year in Detroit than from analysts. GM also exceeded the analysts forecasts for the fourth quarter.
The adjusted result before interest and taxes (EBIT) is expected to achieve $ 13.7 to $ 15.7 billion this year, as the car manufacturer announced. GM had previously promised a result at the previous year’s level ($ 14.9 billion). The adjusted result per share is to increase from $ 10.60 to $ 11.00 to $ 12.00. Here analysts had expected less.
The share still lost around 8 percent shortly after opening the trading opening. Investors feared the effects of tariffs, cuts in e-car funding or tax changes that US President Donald Trump (78) plans. GM would be particularly affected by higher import tariffs from the United States to Canada and Mexico because of its production in these countries. The car manufacturer has also invested a lot of money in electric cars. Of the 2.7 million vehicles sold worldwide, a good 114,000 pure electric cars were.
As expected, depreciation and restructuring costs for the conversion of the lost China business burdened in the final quarter. To do this, GM had to copy $ four billion, plus half a billion dollars in connection with the stop of the Robotaxi project Cruise. Since 2016, Cruise had devoured $ 10 billion investments and only made losses.
Overall, General Motors posted a loss of almost three billion dollars in a quarter, compared to a profit of a good two billion dollars in the same period last year. The adjusted result per share rose by more than half to $ 1.92 and was above the expectations of the analysts. Sales grew by 11 percent in the final quarter to $ 47.7 billion and also exceeded the market forecasts.
Overall, GM benefited from a robust US business. The company also improved its development in China.