Profit, profit, almost everywhere, except Europe and South America, pretty much sums up General Motors fourth quarter and 2015 financial results out today. Although it continued to reduce losses in the fourth quarter, GM failed to match arch-rival Ford which, finally, booked a pre-tax profit in the region last year and, ominously, announced more cuts just today. Like Ford, GM also booked a loss in basket-case South America but nonetheless can boasts a record net profit across the board for 2015.
That net income was $9.7bn, or $5.91 per share, up from $2.8bn, or $1.65 a share in 2014. Earnings per share (EPS) adjusted for special items was $5.02, up 65%.
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Full-year earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) adjusted rose to a record $10.8bn, up from $6.5bn in 2014. EBIT adjusted margin for the year also increased, to a record 7.1%, compared to 4.2% in 2014.
"It was a strong year on many fronts, capped with record sales and earnings, and a substantial return of capital to our shareholders," said GM chairman and CEO Mary Barra. "We continue to strengthen our core business, which is laying the foundation for the company to lead in the transformation of personal mobility. We believe the opportunities this will create in connectivity, autonomous, car-sharing and electrification will set the stage for driving value for our owners for years to come."
Total net revenue for the year was $152.4bn, compared to $155.9bn in 2014. The change was due primarily to a negative net foreign currency exchange impact of $9.3bn.
GM continues to expect EPS-adjusted will be between $5.25 and $5.75 in 2016.
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By GlobalDataFourth quarter
Fourth quarter 2015 net income was $6.3bn, or $3.92 per share, up from $1.1bn, or $0.66 per share during the fourth quarter of 2014. Earnings per share adjusted for special items during the fourth quarter was $1.39, up 17% compared to $1.19 per share for the fourth quarter of 2014.
EBIT-adjusted was a record $2.8bn and EBIT-adjusted margin was 7.0% in the fourth quarter of 2015, compared to EBIT-adjusted of $2.4bn and EBIT-adjusted margin of 6.1% in the fourth quarter of 2014.
"The fourth quarter closed another very strong year of operating performance," said Chuck Stevens, executive vice president and CFO. "We plan to improve our results in 2016, driven by a significant vehicle launch cadence, continued emphasis on growing our adjacent businesses and an unrelenting focus on driving efficiencies into our core operations."
Total net revenue in the fourth quarter of 2015 was $39.6bn, approximately equal to the fourth quarter of 2014.
Regions
GM North America (GMNA) reported EBIT-adjusted of $2.8bn in the fourth quarter of 2015 compared to $2.2bn in 2014. Full-year EBIT-adjusted of $11.0bn and EBIT-adjusted margin of 10.3% were both records, and compared to EBIT-adjusted of $6.6bn and EBIT-adjusted margin of 6.5% in 2014. Based on GMNA's 2015 financial performance, the company will pay profit sharing of up to $11,000 to approximately 49,600 eligible GM U.S. hourly employees.
GM Europe (GME) reported EBIT-adjusted of $(0.3)bn in the fourth quarter of 2015, compared to $(0.4)bn in 2014. Full-year EBIT-adjusted was $(0.8)bn in 2015, compared to $(1.4)bn in 2014.
GM International Operations (GMIO) reported EBIT-adjusted of $0.4bn in the fourth quarter of 2015 compared to $0.4bn in 2014. Full-year EBIT-adjusted was $1.4bn in 2015 compared to $1.2bn in 2014. Results included China equity income of $0.6bn in the fourth quarter and $2.1bn for the full year.
GM South America (GMSA) reported approximately break-even results in the fourth quarter of 2015, compared to EBIT-adjusted of $0.1bn in 2014. Full-year EBIT-adjusted was $(0.6)bn in 2015 compared to EBIT-adjusted of $(0.2)bn in 2014.
GM Financial reported earnings before taxes (EBT) of $0.2bn in the fourth quarter of 2015, compared to $0.1bn in 2014. Full-year EBT was $0.8bn, compared to $0.8bn in 2014.
