General Motors Reports Third Quarter 2014 Net Income Of $1.4 Billion

General Motors has reported third quarter 2014 net income of $1.4 billion, or 81 cents per diluted share, attributable to common stockholders on net revenue of $39.3 billion. The automaker’s strong core operating performance was offset by a net loss from special items of $300 million, or 16 cents per diluted share.

The $300 million net loss from special items were primarily related to flood damage sustained at the GM Technical Center in Michigan and long-lived asset impairments in Russia.

“Strong global sales and growing margins in North America and China helped GM deliver very solid third quarter results,” said GM CEO Mary Barra. “Despite industry challenges in Russia and South America, our earnings were on plan as we continue to execute our customer-focused strategy.”

Compared to last year, GM’s net income was up $700 million, or 36 cents per fully-diluted share. In the third quarter of 2013, GM’s results included a net loss from special items that reduced net income attributable to common stockholders by $900 million, or $(0.51) per diluted share.

Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) adjusted in the third quarter of 2014 was $2.3 billion and included the impact of $200 million in restructuring costs for actions taken in GM Europe. This is a $300 million decline compared to the third quarter of 2013, when the automaker recorded EBIT-adjusted of $2.6 billion, which included $100 million in restructuring costs.

Net revenue in the third quarter of 2014 was up $300 million to $39.3 billion, compared to $39.0 billion in the third quarter of 2013. In the first nine months of 2014, revenue rose $1.4 billion to $116.3 billion, up from $114.9 billion in the same period a year ago.

General Motors Q3 2014 Financial Results

Regional Division Results

• GM North America reported EBIT-adjusted of $2.5 billion, compared with EBIT-adjusted of $2.2 billion in the third quarter of 2013.
• GM Europe reported EBIT-adjusted of $(0.4) billion which includes restructuring costs of $(0.2) billion, compared with EBIT-adjusted of $(0.2) billion in the third quarter of 2013.
• GM International Operations reported EBIT-adjusted of $0.3 billion, compared with EBIT-adjusted of $0.3 billion in the third quarter of 2013.
• GM South America reported break-even results, compared with EBIT-adjusted of $0.3 billion in the third quarter of 2013.
• GM Financial reported earnings before tax of $0.2 billion, compared to $0.2 billion in the third quarter of 2013.

Cash Flow And Liquidity

For the quarter, automotive cash flow from operating activities was $0.7 billion and automotive free cash flow adjusted was $(0.8) billion, which was down from $1.3 billion a year ago. The decline in automotive free cash flow adjusted was primarily related to one extra weekly payment cycle to suppliers during the quarter compared with the same quarter a year ago, and cash payments related to repairing recalled vehicles, including costs to expedite parts to dealers.

GM ended the quarter with total automotive liquidity of $36.6 billion. Automotive cash and marketable securities was $26.1 billion compared with $28.4 billion for the second quarter of 2014.

“Strong performance in North America, where we achieved a 9.5 percent margin, anchored our overall results,” said Chuck Stevens, GM executive vice president and chief financial officer. “We remain focused on flawlessly launching key vehicles globally in the coming months, while delivering a positive experience for our customers.”

Key vehicle launches taking place in the fourth quarter include the recently introduced GMC Canyon and Chevrolet Colorado mid-sized pickups in the U.S., the Cadillac ATS-L, Buick Envision and Chevrolet Cruze in China, and the Opel Corsa and ADAM ROCKS in Europe. The company also has introduced 4G LTE high-speed mobile broadband in 33 vehicles this year, more than the rest of the industry combined, and plans to introduce it on more than a dozen additional models by the end of 2015.