Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 21, 1995 TAG: 9507210047
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: DETROIT LENGTH: Short
The No. 1 automaker attained increased earnings through cost-cutting that boosted profits for each vehicle. The company was the only one of the Big Three to report profits above last year's second quarter.
``Our results stacked up very favorably vis-a-vis Ford and Chrysler, all operating under the same kind of conditions,'' said GM financial chief Michael Losh.
The world's largest automaker earned $2.27 billion, or $2.39 per share, in April-June, compared with $1.92 billion, or $2.23 a share, last year. Revenue for the quarter rose 9 percent to $44.1 billion from $40.4 billion in 1994.
Ford, the No. 2 automaker, said its second-quarter earnings fell 8 percent to $1.57 billion. And Chrysler, the nation's third-biggest automaker, blamed its launch of a new minivan for its 86 percent earnings drop to $135 million.
Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Corp. also sold fewer cars in the period.
Overall, the U.S. Big Three earned $3.98 billion in the quarter, down 19 percent from $4.93 billion a year earlier. U.S. vehicle sales fell 3 percent in the period.
Buying activity should pick up for the rest of 1995, thanks to lower interest rates, analysts said.
``Auto sales, which were recovering slowly, are likely to get a boost over the next several quarters due to the Federal Reserve's politically motivated rate cut,'' said Nicholas Lobaccaro of S.G. Warburg Research.
by CNB