GM raised $20bn through a public share offering in November Tuesday, January 4, 2011
US motor sales confirm recovery
GM raised $20bn through a public share offering in November General Motors has reported strong sales for December, confirming the US carmaker's steady recovery during 2010.
Sales rose by 7.5% in the final month of last year compared with a year earlier, rounding off a good year for the car giant in which sales climbed by 6.3% to 2.2 million vehicles.
GM sales slumped during the downturn and the carmaker was forced into bankruptcy protection in 2009.
GM is the first major carmaker to report full-year sales.
Other major carmakers are due to report their sales figures later on Tuesday.
"Our sales this year reflect the impact of GM's new business model," said GM's vice-president of US sales Don Johnson.
"The consistency of results that we achieved demonstrates the focus on our brands, dealers and customers, and how we compete aggressively for every sale, every day."
The strong sales figures provide further evidence of a remarkable turnaround in GM's fortunes.
In the summer of 2009, the company needed $50bn in government assistance as it went through bankruptcy protection. Following the bail-out, the government owned 61% of the company.
Comprehensive restructuring, including selling off a number of brands, has helped the carmaker to return to profitability.
It posted a net profit of $2bn (£1.2bn) in the three months to the end of September, its third consecutive quarter of profitability.
In November, GM raised $20.1bn through a public share offering - the largest share sale in the US to date.
This will allow the government to reduce its stake to as low as 33%.
This article is from the BBC News website. � British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/business-12115894
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