DETROIT (AP) — General Motors made money in North America and Asia and lost a bundle in Europe as it nearly doubled last year’s fourth-quarter profit.
But the numbers were complicated by a dizzying array of accounting gains and losses for tax credits and devaluation of European assets.
The biggest U.S. automaker reported net income of $898 million, or 54 cents per share, compared with $468 million, or 28 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue grew 3 percent to $39.3 billion.
The fourth-quarter profit included billions in one-time accounting gains and losses that ended up being a $100 million increase. Without the gain, the company earned 48 cents per share, falling short of Wall Street’s expectations. Analysts polled by FactSet expected earnings of 51 cents.
During the quarter, GM continued its recent pattern of making money in the U.S. and Asia but posting big losses in Europe as the economy there continues to cut into auto sales. GM made $1.4 billion pretax in North America, which was down $102 million from last year. But losses widened in Europe as the company has predicted, to $699 million.
For the full year, GM earned $4.9 billion, or $2.92 per share. That was down from $7.6 billion, or $4.58 per share, in 2011. The difference was largely due to losses in Europe and one-time items. Excluding one-time items, GM made $3.24 per share last year. Revenue for the year rose 1 percent to $152.3 billion. The 2012 earnings beat Wall Street expectations. Analysts predicted $3.23 per share on revenue of $151.1 billion.
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