General Motors reports $4.9b net income for 2012
General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM), manufacturers of Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC vehicles, has announced its 2012 calendar-year net income attributable to common stockholders of $4.9 billion, or $2.92 per fully diluted share.
This is however, lower than the 2011’s figure of $7.6 billion, or $4.58 per fully diluted share which the company says is due primarily to unfavourable special items.
Announcing this in Detroit through a statement on February 14, 2013, General Motors said special items during the calendar year impacted full-year net income to common stockholders unfavourably, $(0.5) billion, or $(0.32) per share, compared to a favourable $1.2 billion impact in 2011, or $0.70 per share.
It added though, that revenue increased one percent to $152.3 billion, compared with $150.3 billion in 2011, while full-year earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) adjusted was $7.9 billion, compared with $8.3 billion in 2011.
According to GM, full-year EBIT-adjusted for 2012 includes the impact of restructuring charges of $(0.4) billion.
Commenting on the company’s performance last year, Dan Akerson, Chairman and CEO, said: “We recorded another solid year in 2012 as we grew the business, delivered a third straight year of profitability and took significant actions to put the company on a solid path for future growth.”
Touching on plans for 2013, the CEO said: “This year our priorities will be executing flawless new vehicle launches, controlling costs and delivering more vehicles to our customers at outstanding value.”
Meanwhile, the company said revenue in the fourth quarter of 2012 increased 3 percent to $39.3 billion, compared with the fourth quarter of 2011.
GM’s fourth quarter 2012 net income attributable to common stockholders was $0.9 billion, or $0.54 per fully diluted share, including a net gain from special items of $0.1 billion or $0.06 per fully diluted share.
Previously in the fourth quarter of 2011, GM’s net income attributable to common stockholders was $0.5 billion, or $0.28 per fully diluted share, including a net loss from special items of $(0.2) billion, or $(0.11) per fully diluted share.
EBIT-adjusted was $1.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2012, compared with $1.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011. Fourth quarter EBIT-adjusted for 2012 includes the impact of restructuring charges of $(0.2) billion.
GM’s fourth quarter 2012 special items impact to net income of $0.1 billion includes a $34.9 billion non-cash benefit from the release of the majority of the company’s valuation allowances on U.S. and Canada deferred tax assets and an associated $(26.2) billion non-cash goodwill impairment charge; a $(5.2) billion non-cash impairment of GM Europe long-lived assets; and a $(2.2) billion charge related to U.S. salaried pension plan actions announced earlier this year, among other smaller items.
The non-cash impairment of GM Europe long-lived assets does not reflect any change to the company’s objective to break even in its European operations by mid-decade.
By Edmund Smith-Asante