GM reports $4.3 billion loss through last 2 quarters of 2009

[1bad65]

Originally Posted by Brokinarrow

Right? There is no EASY button here people!

Actually there is. Companies that make decisions and fail, should have to suffer the consequences. If I screw my finances up, I don't get a bailout. Yet my middle-class self has to bail out billion dollar corporations. It's ridiculous.

[a_Username]

Originally Posted by 1bad65

Actually there is. Companies that make decisions and fail, should have to suffer the consequences. If I screw my finances up, I don't get a bailout. Yet my middle-class self has to bail out billion dollar corporations. It's ridiculous.

If only politics were allowed here...

[Xanthos]

Remember that GM has been paying back the bailout loans early. All of those payments have to be reported as a loss of profit. Not saying they're in the black, but those numbers are skewed.
- X

[FenwickHockey65]

Originally Posted by 1bad65

Actually there is. Companies that make decisions and fail, should have to suffer the consequences. If I screw my finances up, I don't get a bailout. Yet my middle-class self has to bail out billion dollar corporations. It's ridiculous.

Not even going to start with this.

[DGthe3]

Lets see:

There was $1.2 billion paid back from loans: US ($1B), Canadian ($100M), and Ontario ($100M) governments
$1.6B was due to "foreign currency re-measurement loss." I think that means they lost money due to the US dollar going down.
Finally, $2.6B went to a UAW retiree medical plan.

Add all that up and it comes to $5.4B

Yup epic failure of GM

[Mr. Wyndham]

Why was this even posted? 2009 was a horrible year for them, let along the Industry...

Should I post up links to the TWO payments back to the gov't, (which they can do because they're obviously operating at a profit right now), as well as the strong belief all the loans will be paid back by June?

Shall we revisit the knockout hits nearly every single one of their new cars and trucks have been recently?

Maybe we'll take a peek at the internal reorganization and focus on the customer...or warranty claims reductions...or a recent 100% functional report by OnStar on Chevy powertrains...


Nooo.....let's post up a useless tidbit out of context (4-months dated, btw), and attempt to make a weak point with it.

Sorry if that seems harsh, but people really need to look at all the facts, and not just one.

[Big Brunsy]

They still got some of the best the best vehicles around. Cars, trucks, SUV's, crossovers. The silverado is probably the best truck around, and noone can compete with the Duramax. The Tahoe is by far the best looking SUV on the market. That new Eco car they got gets Prius milage without the Hybrid expense. The Camaro is outselling mustang and challenger. The new Malibu is an excelent family car those things are everywhere now. Buicks are some of the most reliable cars on the road. And you don't call something thats the best of it's kind a Cadillac for nothing!

[Angrybird 12]

now for the good news....

From Yahoo news

DETROIT – General Motors Co., steadily returning to health after its near-collapse in 2009, said Tuesday it plans to pay off its government loans by June — five years ahead of schedule — and could report a profit as early as this year.

GM said it lost $3.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2009 on revenues of $32.3 billion. But things are on the upswing. Sales and production have increased and GM has gained U.S. market share since the start of the year. The automaker will try to maintain that momentum while facing a stiff challenge from a revitalized Ford Motor Co.

For the period from July 10, when GM emerged from bankruptcy protection after shedding billions in debt, through Dec. 31, GM lost $4.3 billion on revenues of $57.5 billion. But much of that loss was for one-time items, including a $2.6 billion payment to the United Auto Workers union for retiree health care. The company also reported several indicators of improving health: It took in $1 billion more than it spent in the period and began this year with $36 billion in cash and $60 billion in debt. At the start of 2009, it had $14 billion in cash and $104 billion in debt.

"General Motors should never again be in the financial position it found itself in last year," GM Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell said during a conference call with analysts and media.

Repaying $6.7 billion in government loans has been a top priority for CEO Ed Whitacre. The government's autos task force set a repayment deadline of 2015 as a condition of giving GM the loans last year. As of the end of March, GM has paid back $2.4 billion and Liddell said GM plans to pay the rest by June at the latest.

GM owes an additional $45.3 billion to the government. That will be repaid when GM makes a public stock offering, which Liddell says will happen "when the markets and the company are ready."

Liddell, who came to GM at the beginning of the year from Microsoft Corp., wouldn't say whether GM will make money in the first quarter, but said there's a good chance the company will make a profit in 2010 based on encouraging first-quarter sales and production. GM plans to release first-quarter results next month.

"I think there is a danger of overpromising and underdelivering," he said. "When we put the numbers on the board, we will come out and tell you about them."

GM, which remains the largest car company by sales in the U.S., saw a slight gain in U.S. market share in the first three months of this year compared to a year ago. Sales of some of its new crossovers, including the Chevrolet Traverse and Equinox and GMC Acadia and Terrain, have been particularly strong. Worldwide production rose to 1.9 million vehicles in the fourth quarter, up from 1.6 million in the same quarter in 2008.

But rivals are nipping at its heels. Ford Motor Co., which didn't take government aid and reported a $2.7 billion profit for 2009, outsold GM in February for the first time in a dozen years. Toyota Motor Corp. came close to outselling GM last month when it used heavy incentives to lure buyers after a series of safety recalls.

Liddell said Toyota's incentives, which GM had to match, will have some impact on profits. But said GM is making cuts elsewhere so it won't have to rely so heavily on U.S. sales. Automakers are predicting a modest recovery in U.S. sales to around 11.5 million vehicles this year. That's about 1 million more than in 2009, when the recession-wracked industry saw its worst sales in nearly 30 years.

"I don't believe we need significant industry improvement to get to profitability," he said.

Things are also on the mend at Chrysler Group LLC, which also went into bankruptcy protection last year and is now managed by Fiat SpA. Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said last week that the automaker has $5 billion in cash on hand and expects to break even this year. Chrysler plans to provide more detailed financial results later this month.

Since July, GM has shed four brands — Pontiac, Saturn, Saab and Hummer — and made a series of management changes and cut thousands of employees. GM had 217,000 employees at the end of 2009, down 11 percent from the prior year.

The results GM reported Wednesday aren't comparable to prior years because the company used fresh-start accounting, which allows companies to completely revalue their assets after bankruptcy protection. GM says it's the largest company ever to go through fresh-start accounting.

[ron10]

wish i could get a huge bonus for doing a lousy job.maybe i should go to work for a bank.

[TAG UR IT]

Originally Posted by Dragoneye

Why was this even posted?

....because.....

...someone didn't see the thread had already been created......or.....the search tool was broken on someone's computer?

just wild guesses here....


No....I'd add my .02 cents. But, like you, I just don't know if it would do any good. Yes. It was a bad year. It was a bad year for EVERYONE. Duh...now...where's that smiley that shows the guy hitting himself over the head....

[a_Username]

Thread jacked, btw, did you see this in Skyman's article?

Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said last week that the automaker has $5 billion in cash on hand and expects to break even this year. Chrysler plans to provide more detailed financial results later this month.

Seems a little optimistic to me IMO.

[Brokinarrow]

Originally Posted by a_Username

Thread jacked, btw, did you see this in Skyman's article?



Seems a little optimistic to me IMO.

Wow, yeah I hadn't heard that before. I agree, if they're going to break even this year then they really came back outta nowhere...

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by ron10

wish i could get a huge bonus for doing a lousy job.maybe i should go to work for a bank.

umm ... what in the world does that have to do with anything here?

[ssump29]

What people falling to realize is that GM is on a Fiscal year not Calendar year. Meaning this doesn't mean Sept and Dec of 09, but March and June 09 as I believe their fiscal year is from July-June.