GM loses $9.6 billion

Embattled automaker reports larger than expected in fourth quarter loss and burns through more than $5 billion in cash; says it needs new loans this year.

General Motors posted a $9.6 billion net loss in the fourth quarter, a period in which its sales plunged and it needed a federal bailout to avoid filing for bankruptcy.

The company also disclosed that its auto operations burned through $5.2 billion in cash during the last three months of the year. The company ended the quarter with cash of $14 billion.

If not for the $4 billion federal loan it received in the quarter's closing days, GM's cash level would have fallen below the $11 billion to $14 billion in cash the company has said it needs to continue operations.

Since receiving the first installment of that loan, GM has gotten another $9.4 billion in federal assistance. The company asked for an additional $16.6 billion in the turnaround plan it submitted to the Treasury Department last week. GM disclosed Thursday it will need this money in 2009 to weather the current downturn.

The company also said it anticipates its outside auditors will issue a statement on whether the company is a "going concern." The statement could be important not only to investors but to federal officials who are determining whether the company is viable in the long-term.

If the government determines GM is not viable, it would demand immediate repayment of the company's loans.

The auditor's statement will be included in GM's year-end results filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. GM disclosed Thursday it had filed for a two-week extension to submit that report.

As bad as the net loss was, it could have been worse. The company posted a $533 million gain because of the fact that GMAC, the finance unit in which it held a 49% stake during the quarter, got its bond holders to agree to swap debt for equity. GMAC become a bank holding company as a result of the debt swap, which significantly reduced GM's stake in the unit.

Excluding special items, GM lost $5.9 billion, or $9.65 a share, in the quarter. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had forecast a loss of $7.39 a share, compared to a profit of 8 cents a share on that basis a year ago.

The operating losses were particularly pronounced in GM's core North American market. It lost $3.5 billion before taxes in the quarter, up from a $1.3 billion loss in North America a year earlier.

Revenue in the North American unit plunged about 32% to $19.3 billion. GM's market share also slid 1.7 percentage points to 21%.

But GM, which now sells more than half its vehicles outside of North America, is facing challenges around the globe.

Losses more than quadrupled in Europe, and the company lost money in its Asia-Pacific and Latin America-Africa-Middle East units. GM posted profits in those two regions a year ago.

Overall revenue at GM plunged 34% to $30.8 billion, significantly worse than the Thomson-Reuters forecast of $35.1 billion.

For the full year, GM reported a net loss of $30.9 billion. The automaker has posted net losses of $82 billion over the past four years as its U.S. sales and market share plunged and it closed plants and slashed staff in an unsuccessful effort to stem losses.


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