General Motors loss sets record
The company reported record third-quarter automotive revenue of $43.1 billion and record global sales for the quarter of 2.39 million cars and trucks.
It was the second-worst quarterly net loss in U.S. corporate history, exceeded only by AOL Time Warner’s $44.9 billion loss in the fourth quarter of 2002 when the value of the AOL operations was marked down, according to Howard Silverblatt, a senior index analyst for Standard & Poor’s.
Standard & Poor’s analyst Efraim Levy said the near-term outlook for GM has worsened significantly due to reduced sales in the United States and Europe and weakness in the U.S. housing market. S&P cut GM’s 12-month target price by $7 to $32.
“I would stress: No impact whatsoever on our cash position, no impact on our ability to use the tax offsets in the future, and from my perspective, really no change whatsoever in our outlook or optimism about the future of getting the business turned around,” he said.