The first quarter numbers are in for General Motors and things aren't looking bright for the largest U.S. automaker as the Obama administration's June 1st bankruptcy deadline nears its end. General Motors recorded a net loss of $6.0 billion in the first three months of the year and at the same time burned through $10.2 billion in cash as the firm's sales plunged by 903,000 units or 40 percent on a global basis year-over-year.On a regional basis, GM's North American operations' revenue for the first quarter 2009 was $12.3 billion, down 50 percent compared to $24.5 billion in the year-ago period. In Europe, where GM experienced a 46 percent decline in production volume versus the year-ago quarter, revenue was down to $5.3 billion from $9.9 billion the same period in 2008.
In the Asia Pacific region that includes China where GM sales were up 17 percent, the company saw its revenue fall to $2.4 billion from $5.3 billion in the first quarter of 2008. As for the GM Latin America, Africa and Middle East, the firm's revenue for the first quarter of the year was $3.4 billion compared to $4.8 billion a year ago.
"Our first quarter results underscore the importance of executing GM's revised Viability Plan, which goes further and faster to lower our break-even point," said Fritz Henderson, president and chief executive officer of GM.
"Our Plan is designed to fix the fundamentals of our business by restructuring and deleveraging our balance sheet, enhancing our revenue capability and dramatically reducing costs. It's focused on taking care of customers every single day, winning with four core brands, and investing in new products and technology, while at the same time accelerating actions to lower our cost structure to return GM to profitability quickly," Henderson concluded in the prepared statement.
