Strong performance in North America catapulted General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) to record performance in 2015. With more consumers buying new vehicles the automaker is projecting an even better performance, this year. Last year earnings also received a boost from changes in the valuation of certain assets that added $1.5 billion in the net income.
A net income of $6.3 billion in the fourth quarter overshadowed a $1.1 billion profit posted a year earlier same quarter.
North America Strong Fundamentals
Consumers in North America continue to buy cars in numbers partly due to, oil prices trading at multi-year lows. Buoyed by strong demand, General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) expects the overall industry to surpass the 17.5 million car sales set last year. Fundamentals according to CEO, Mary Barra, are in support of a strong 2016 on auto sales.
Revenues for the full year came in at $152.4 billion compared to $155.9 billion in 2014. The automaker attributes the decline to currency headwinds as the dollar continued to outperform other majors. However, sales in North America did more than enough to offset the currency headwinds. Pretax profit from the region rose to highs of $11 billion.
Weakness in other regions should be a point of concern going forward. Europe, for instance, posted a net loss of $800 million. Operations in South America, on the other hand, generated a net loss of $600 million. Other international divisions that include China brought in a pre-tax profit of $1.4 billion.
GM Long Term Play
Barra expects strong earnings to lead to the additional of new models this year. The automaker is also planning to invest big in new technology as well as electric vehicles. The executive expects General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) to operate more of a technology company this year, than an automaker. That is in part because they have set their sights on ride-sharing services as well as autonomous cars.
Even with a strong earnings report and investments in new technologies, the stock continues to languish in the stock market. General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) is currently trading at the $28.92 mark, below its 52-weeks high of $38 a share.
Anthony Young
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