Washington, Feb 7 General Motors, the world’s third largest automaker, has announced lower profits for the fourth quarter of 2013.
While the company saw a 3-per-cent increase in revenue in the final three months of the year — $40.5 billion versus $39.3 billion in 2012 — the net profit before dividend was $1.04 billion, down from $1.19 billion in 2012.
The company’s bottom line was negatively impacted by tax obligations and costly restructuring in Europe, which included the exit of the Chevrolet brand from that continent, as well as the shutdown of a manufacturing centre in Australia.
GM’s international operations, which include China and West Asia, also saw appreciably slimmer profits in 2013 compared to 2012 — $208 million versus $676 million in 2012.
Full-year revenue
For the full year, revenues rose 2 per cent to $155.4 billion from 152.3 billion dollars in 2012. However, net profit before dividend was down at $5.35 billion compared with $6.19 billion in 2012.
“Launches of some of the best vehicles in our history combined with significant improvements in our core business led to a solid year,” GM head Mary Barra said in a statement.