GERMANY: Predicted Opel losses put pressure on Opel's boss - NYT

GERMANY: Predicted Opel losses put pressure on Opel’s boss – NYT

The New York Times reports that Opel's chief executive - Carl-Peter Forster - will come under pressure when Opel reports sizeable 2001 operating losses on Wednesday, 16th January. The report says that Mr Forster is expected to report on Wednesday that Adam Opel AG had an operating loss for 2001 of more than $600 million.

The New York Times reports that Opel’s chief executive – Carl-Peter Forster – will come under pressure when Opel reports sizeable 2001 operating losses on Wednesday, 16th January.

The report says that Mr Forster is expected to report on Wednesday that Adam Opel AG had an operating loss for 2001 of more than $600 million.

That follows a $463 million loss in 2000, and it is much greater than General Motors executives had originally hoped. Analysts expect Opel to report a net profit for 2001 on Wednesday, but only because it will include for the first time the profits from its financing subsidiary, Opel Bank.

The NYT report adds that Opel’s market share in Germany, Europe’s biggest market, has slumped from a peak of 16.5% in 1995 to just 12% now. Product issues in key segments continue to cause concern.

Opel executives are said to be worried that Mr Forster’s much-vaunted turnaround plan, called Project Olympia, does not go far enough.