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General Motors reported stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter profit, posting full-year results for the second year in a row.

The largest U.S. automaker said Tuesday it is buying a $650 million equity stake in Lithium Americas, which will provide raw materials to make batteries for the first phase of production of 1 million electric vehicles a year.

For the quarter, GM reported adjusted earnings of $3 billion, or $2.12 a share, from $1.35 a share a year ago and well ahead of analysts’ forecasts of $1.69 a share surveyed by Refinitive. That lifted full-year adjusted revenue to $11 billion, compared with $10.4 billion in 2021, a previous record.

The company said it expects strong revenue in 2023, although it expects it to slip slightly from posted levels, at $8.7 billion to $10.1 billion. But the company’s CFO Paul Jacobson said that while the automotive business remains strong, much of the decline is likely due to GM’s financials. That’s because of higher interest rates and the sinking value of used cars, as well as the damage to retirement income accounting for higher interest rates.

“in fact [guidance] We’ll see where things go, it’s a stronger statement than others,” he told reporters on a call on Tuesday.

Jacobson told reporters that GM does not expect to follow Tesla and Ford in reducing the price of electric vehicles.

“I don’t think it’s surprising that competition is increasing in the EV space,” he said. “Our customers are saying we’re well priced based on the demand we’re seeing.”

The company’s investment in Lithium Americas is part of its efforts to lock in the supply of raw materials needed to transition from traditional gasoline to electric vehicles. The Lithium Americas deal won’t supply the company with any lithium until 2026, but Jacobson told the media that “in We have achieved all the lithium we need by 2025.

GM expects to build 70,000 EVs this year, a small fraction of its total vehicle output. In the year It will sell 5.9 million vehicles in 2022, down 6% from 2021.

“We continue to face some supply chain and logistics issues, but overall things are moving in the right direction,” Jacobson said.

But the company expects to grow its EV offerings and supplies quickly, with a new battery factory that opened last year, two more under construction and a fourth planned soon. GM has a goal of building 400,000 EVs by mid-2024 and 1 million a year by 2025.

CEO Mary Barra predicts more deals like Lithium America will be announced soon.

“We will continue to pursue strategic supply agreements and partnerships to further secure our long-term interests,” she told investors.

GM has announced that it will cut its workforce in 2023. But unlike many major companies that have announced layoffs in recent months, company officials have stressed that GM layoffs will not slow down. Instead, the discount is done in good faith.

GM did not say how many jobs would be cut, but Jacobson said the company will end this year with a “slightly lower” headcount.

GM has 167,000 employees worldwide and 124,000 in North America. That includes more than 42,000 members of the United Automobile Association. Those employees will earn an average profit-sharing bonus of $12,750 a year, up 25% from the $10,250 they received a year ago.

GM shares rose more than 5% in premarket trading on the results.

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