General Motors Profitable in First Year as New Company

General Motors died and rose from its own ashes to finally become a profitable company in calendar year 2010. Because yes, the US-based giant has posted a profit in the year which ended December 31, earning $4.7 billion, the most in the last 10 years. Impressive or not, General Motors did pretty well last year, with revenues totaling $135.6 billion, with automotive cash flow from operating activities going as high as $6.6 billion.

And this is not only good news for the company, but also for workers who strived to bring General Motors back on the path to success. Approximately 45,000 eligible US hourly employees and 3,000 GM Components Holdings workers will benefit from GM's profit sharing payments. Around $4,300 will be paid to GM employees and $3,200 to GMCH workers.

“Last year was one of foundation building,” said Dan Akerson, chairman and chief executive officer. “Particularly pleasing was that we demonstrated GM’s ability to achieve sustainable profitability near the bottom of the U.S. industry cycle, with four consecutive profitable quarters.”

The fourth quarter of the year brought significant increases for General Motors who earned $510 million, as compared to a loss of no less than $3.5 billion in the same period of the previous year. North America brought a profit of $5.7 billion in 2010, while Europe was responsible for a loss of $1.8 billion.

“Our focus for 2011 is to build on our progress and continue to generate momentum in the marketplace. We expect our first quarter will be a strong start,” said Chris Liddell, vice chairman and chief financial officer.