General Motors Earnings More Than Double

General Motors Co. doubled its net income and notched record revenue in the third quarter amid strong truck sales in its home U.S. market and continued strength in China, but the auto maker signaled continued weakness in Europe because of Brexit fallout.

GM on Tuesday posted net income attributable to common shareholders of $2.77 billion for the period ended Sept. 30, up from $1.36 billion reported in the same period a year ago. The Detroit auto maker said operating profit excluding one-time factors equaled $1.72 a share, breezing past Wall Street expectations of $1.45 a share.

Revenue rose 10% to $42.83 billion, a quarterly record for the company. That topped analysts' average forecast of $39.3 billion.

The largest U.S. auto maker by sales benefited from continued strong pricing on big pickups and SUVs in North America, its most profitable models, as well as healthier margins on freshly redesigned cars such as the Chevrolet Malibu. A sales surge in China, stoked by a government tax incentive, helped offset pricing pressures from weak demand for small cars and commercial vans.

Operating margins in both North America and China slipped modestly during the quarter compared with a year ago.

GM posted an operating loss of $142 million in Europe, a quarter after recording its first profit there in five years. GM said that fallout from the U.K.'s vote to exit from the European Union shaved about $100 million from its business in the quarter and that it expects the drag to be $300 million in the fourth quarter.

The Brexit impact likely will derail GM's longstanding goal of turning a profit on the continent in 2016, the first time since 1998. Other auto makers, including the Nissan Motor Co./Renault SA alliance, have signaled concerns about the U.K.'s auto industry in recent months.

Write to Mike Colias at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 25, 2016 08:05 ET (12:05 GMT)

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