General Motors, which nearly collapsed from the weight of its debts two years ago before reorganizing in a government-sponsored bankruptcy, said Thursday that it earned $4.7 billion in 2010, the most in more than a decade.
It was the first profitable year since 2004 for G.M., which became publicly traded in November, ending a streak of losses totaling about $90 billion.
In addition, G.M. said 45,000 union workers would receive profit-sharing checks averaging $4,300, the most in the company’s history.
Globally, G.M.’s sales rose 12.2 percent in 2010, to 8.39 million, coming within about 30,000 vehicles of retaking the title of world’s largest automaker from Toyota. For the first time, it sold more cars and trucks in China, where its sales rose 28.8 percent from 2009, than in the United States, where sales were up 6.3 percent.
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As expected, General Motors (GM) announced an annual profit today, a notable event since GM hasn’t had a profitable year since 2004. And it hasn’t made this much money, $4.7 billion, since 1999. This all sounds great. But it’s actually remarkable.
After its 2009 bankruptcy, GM was revamped to generate profits based on a truly dreadful overall North American market. Just for perspective, in 2005, the U.S. market hit 17 million in vehicle sales. After the financial crisis, it shrank to less than 10 million. GM has been streamlined to turn profits when it’s flat on its back — and to rake it in when the market is operating at normal levels.
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