General Motors (GM, $38.40) cuts cost to boost revenue, struggle in China continues
American auto-making giant General Motors clocked higher-than-expected first quarterly profit by cutting costs and selling more expensive trucks, like SUVs and crossover vehicles.
However, investors are not quite happy as revenue dropped by 3.4% to $34.88 billion from $36.1 billion during the same quarter a year ago and also missed the Wall Street estimate of $35.28 billion amidst falling vehicle sales and sliding market share. The company’s total market share slid from 17% to 16.1%.
On the other hand, adjusted earnings came-in at $1.41 per share against estimate of $1.11 per share. This was boosted by the company’s stake in the ride-hailing platform Lyft (LYFT) and French auto maker PSA Group. Sales of more expensive trucks, like its recently updated full-size pickup trucks, including the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, also boosted GM’s profit margin as average sales prices rose by $5,800 year-over-year against outgoing models.
On an unadjusted basis, GM earned $2.1 billion in the first quarter, or $1.48 per share, up from $1.05 billion, or 72 cents per share, a year prior.
Yet, the company is still struggling in the world’s largest auto market, China, where its first quarter income fell 37% to $376 million and sales dropped 18% from the same period a year ago.
To boost its profit margin, GM is cutting more than 14,000 jobs at factories in the U.S. and Canada. The company has plans to launch more full-size pickups in the second half of 2019 with two new heavy-duty pickups from Chevrolet and GMC, which the company deems a favorite among buyers.
Further, to meet changing demand patterns, GM is shifting focus to self-driving and electrified vehicles that will include a complete range of EVs including full-size pickups. Shares of the company rose more than 6% over the last 12 months and is up more than 20% since the beginning of the year.
