Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 30, 1993 TAG: 9304300176
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: DETROIT LENGTH: Medium
The No. 1 U.S. automaker also credited cost controls for its performance, which compared with a $21 billion loss a year earlier.
GM earned 42 cents a share in the quarter. Its loss of $33.96 a share a year ago reflected the adoption of new accounting standards for future retiree health care. Excluding the accounting change, GM lost $166.7 million, or 53 cents a share.
In the latest quarter, GM's North American automotive operations had an after-tax loss of $194 million, compared with $1.23 billion a year ago.
Analyst Wendy Needham of Smith Barney, Harris Upham & Co. said GM benefited from operational changes, including negotiating better terms with suppliers and eliminating duplication and waste throughout its system.
But at a news conference, GM officials conceded the automaker still has much work ahead.
"We're encouraged by our financial performance in the first quarter, but we recognize that this is just the first step in meeting our aggressive financial goals for this year and the future," Chief Executive Officer Jack Smith said.
Worldwide revenue rose 8.4 percent to $34.96 billion from $32.26 billion a year earlier. Gross profit margins improved to 14.2 percent from 12 percent.
General Motors lost $1.37 1/2 on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, closing at $41.
"Ford so astonished Wall Street yesterday with a blowout first quarter, and traders figured GM is in the same business and should have had a surprise, too," said S.G. Warburg & Co, analyst David Healy. "But this is a respectably good quarter."
Ford reported Wednesday it earned $572 million, or $1.02 a share.
by CNB