General Motors (GM) reported fourth quarter profit that outpaced analysts’ expectations. An important factor in bolstering earnings was strong sales of high-margin pickup trucks and small SUVs in the U.S. market. The automaker is also in the middle of a cost cutting programme.
The company’s adjusted earnings came in at $1.43 per share for the fourth quarter , compared to Wall Street expectations of $1.22 per share. (although the per share earnings were down more than 13% year-over-year). Revenue of $38.4 billion was higher than $36.48 billion estimate. Most of the strong profitability apparently came from the North American market.
Tailwinds came in the form of solid market for pickup trucks whose average transaction prices reached a record of nearly $36,000 (as indicated by the company). Sales of Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickups and the midsize Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pickups, increased +3% from the fourth quarter of 2017.
GM is in the process of slashing 14,000 jobs, which that company expects would save about $6 billion in cash by 2020. It began laying off more than 4,000 employees on Monday.