DETROIT, Michigan - General Motors Corp. reported a first-quarter net loss Tuesday of 1.1 billion dollars, reflecting the difficult business conditions described by the auto giant in last month's profit warning.
The loss excluding special items and restructuring costs amounted to 1.48 dollars a share, a penny better than most Wall Street forecasts. The loss including special items was 1.95 dollars per share.
The special items include charges for restructuring in Europe, US job cuts and factory closings, as well as tax adjustments. Without these costs, the adjusted loss reported by GM was 839 million dollars.
The results compared with a profit of 1.2 billion dollars in the same period a year ago.
GM said revenue fell year over year in the quarter by 4.3 percent to 45.8 billion dollars.
The company's North American division dragged down the overall results for the world's biggest automaker with a loss of 1.3 billion dollars, compared with a 401-million-dollar profit a year ago.
"This deterioration reflects lower sales and production volumes, a tougher pricing environment, an unfavorable sales mix and a continuing, large health care burden," GM said.
"While most of our business units exceeded expectations, the results at GM North America (GMNA) were clearly disappointing," said GM chairman and chief executive officer Rick Wagoner.
"We have well thought-out plans to address GMNA's poor performance, starting with aggressive product introductions this year, value-focused marketing initiatives and further reductions in our cost structure, where the greatest need is to address the challenging health care cost situation."
GM last month slashed its own forecasts from breakeven to a loss of about 1.50 dollars a share, citing weak sales in North America and tough competition from abroad.
Wagoner subsequently took charge of the ailing US operations to help revive sales, pushing aside high-level executives Bob Lutz and Gary Cowger.
Ratings agencies Fitch, Standard and Poor's and Moody's are poised to slash GM's 300 billion dollars in debt to "junk" status if the automaker doesn't show signs of a turnaround, but signs show that such moves, if made, will come later in the year.
Along with the highly publicized pension cost woes and fierce competition from the Japanese, GM has had to grapple with waning demand for its sport utility vehicles, its most profitable vehicle segment, amid record-high fuel prices.
GM pleaded with union officials last week to help spread the burden of rising health care costs, which GM predicted could reach 5.6 billion dollars this year. The union said it wouldn't reopen the contract but would work with the structure of the current one to reduce costs.
GM's US market share drifted below 26 percent in the first quarter as Japanese rivals have drawn more and more US consumers to their dealer lots.
04/19/2005 14:21 GMT