Strong pickup-truck and SUV sales in the US helped General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM) to record its second straight year of record operating profits in 2016, but shares fell as fourth-quarter income dropped.
GM – the largest US auto maker in terms of sales – saw its operating profits for the full-year rise by 15.9% to US$12.5bn, as revenues rose by 9.2% to a record US$166.4bn.
The group said results were “driven by strong retail demand for full-size trucks and SUVs in the United States, continued industry growth in China and effective cost performance across the globe.”
However, the autos giant’s net income dropped by 71% to US$1.84bn for the final three months of 2016, down from US$6.27bn at the same stage in 2015, due to foreign exchange headwinds and a non-recurrence of one-time gains recorded a year ago
GM said fourth-quarter operating profits, excluding one-time factors, were US$1.28 per share, well above analyst expectations of US$1.17 share.
Quarterly revenues rose 11% to US$43.9bn, surpassing the consensus forecast of US$41.5bn.
But in early New York trading, GM shares dropped almost 4.5% to US$35.18 each.
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