General Motors, the world's largest automaker, said first-quarter profit topped analysts' estimates as the company sold more vehicles globally.
Nonetheless, profit slipped to 93 cents a share, down from 95 cents a year earlier, with sales in Europe under pressure.
Net income declined to $1.3 billion from $3.37 billion, or $1.77 a share, a year earlier, the Detroit-based GM said today.
"We are aggressively eliminating complexity to reduce our costs," chief financial officer Dan Ammann said. The company is "preparing for more than 20 major vehicle launches around the world in 2012 to drive revenue this year and farther into the future."
The first-quarter results resemble Ford Motor's profit, which fell 45 per cent to $1.4 billion as North America income was reduced by losses in Europe. Slowing growth in China and increasing competition in South America are exacerbating both companies' reliance on their home continent.
Revenue rose to $37.8 billion from $36.2 billion, exceeding seven analysts' $37.5 billion average estimate.
The quarterly profit is GM's ninth straight. The company's adjusted operating profit in North America rose to $1.7 billion from $1.25 billion a year earlier while international operations, which includes China, fell to $529 million from $586 million.
The company's global vehicle sales rose 4 per cent to 2.3 million units from 2.22 million a year earlier. US sales climbed 2.7 per cent to 608,320, helped by the Chevrolet Cruze and Malibu sedans, while the company spent 11 per cent less on incentives per vehicle.
The adjusted operating loss in Europe, including Opel, totaled $256 million compared with a $5 million profit a year earlier. In South America, GM had a profit of $83 million, down from $90 million.
Europe has been a persistent problem for GM. After board members, including Akerson, decided not to sell the company's German-based Opel unit in 2009, losses have continued and deepened. The European operations were on target to break even last year until November when the company said those plans were off track as the economy worsened. GM Europe had a 2011 loss of $747 million before interest and taxes.
In February, GM announced an agreement to acquire 7 per cent of PSA Peugeot Citroen as part of an alliance that includes purchasing and vehicle development as part of an effort to revitalize its European operations. That effort is separate from fixing Opel, which the company said would take a couple of months.
Executives have rolled back that timetable. "We're in dialogue with all of the constituencies and it's multinational, given our footprint in Europe," Akerson told reporters in Beijing last week. "We hope within the next couple of months to be able to speak more specifically about the details of a plan going forward."
In the January-to-March quarter, GM's car sales fell 12 per cent to 271,711 in the 27-member European Union plus Switzerland, Norway and Iceland while the total market declined 7.3 per cent.
Bloomberg