General Motors raised some of its full-year profit projections Tuesday following solid earnings as strong vehicle pricing compensated for lower auto sales.
The big US automaker reported $3.1 billion in third-quarter profits, essentially flat with the year-ago period.
Revenues jumped 10.5 per cent to $48.8 billion despite an 8.8 per cent drop in global auto deliveries that reflected lower sales across GM鈥檚 markets.
In a letter to shareholders, GM chief executive Mary Barra pointed to 鈥榓bove-average pricing鈥� in GM鈥檚 home market of the United States, where the Detroit giant has managed to avoid deep discounting despite a bounce in vehicle inventories.
鈥業鈥檓 proud that GM is delivering our best vehicles ever with strong financial results. But I want to be clear that we are not mistaking progress for winning,鈥� Barra said.
鈥楥ompetition is fierce, and the regulatory environment will keep getting tougher.鈥�
GM has for months cautioned investors that it expects a moderation in strong pricing as vehicle supply rises.
But chief financial officer Paul Jacobson told reporters the company has yet to see deterioration in pricing.
Jacobson said GM鈥檚 performance in China had improved from the previous quarter. However, the company is still working to restructure the venture.
鈥榃e believe the situation is improving but there鈥檚 still work to do with our partner,鈥� he said.
Jacobson said GM was focused on boosting output of electric vehicles as a way to realize overall profitability of the growing operation.聽
GM鈥檚 strategy has been based on maintaining strong profitability from conventional vehicles in order to finance聽billions of dollars in new capital projects for EVs.
In the third quarter, GM attained about 10 per cent of the US market share for EVs following the launch of the Chevrolet Equinox. GM plans additional new EV offerings in 2025.聽
The latest batch of results topped analyst estimates for GM, which now projects operating profit of between $14 to $15 billion, up from the prior outlook of $13 to $15 billion.
