GM In The Fast Lane, Easily Tops Expectations

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DETROIT (AP) — General Motors' net profit fell just under 3 percent last year but the company still made a $9.4 billion on the back of its U.S. money machine.

A record $12 billion pretax profit in North America will mean big checks for 52,000 union workers. They'll get a record $12,000 each, up from $11,000 last year. That will cost the company $624 million.

GM said Tuesday that it made $6 per share for the year. Without special items it made $6.12, beating Wall Street expectations by a dime, according to a survey by FactSet. Last year's net profit was boosted by about $4 billion in accounting charges, mainly due to better prospects in Europe.

Full-year revenue was $166.4 billion, up 9 percent from a year ago, beating analysts' estimates of $163.5 billion.

For the fourth quarter, GM made a net profit of $1.8 billion, or $1.19 per share. That's up more than 70 percent over last year.

Without special items including $100 million for a nagging ignition switch recall, the company would have made $1.28 per share. That soundly beat Wall Street estimates of $1.17. Revenue for the quarter was $43.9 billion, also beating estimates of $40.3 billion.

GM shares rose 47 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $37.30 in premarket trading.

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