General Motors Posts Record 2016 Results

General Motors (NYSE: GM) today announced record full-year 2016 results from strong retail demand for full-size trucks and SUVs in the United States, continued industry growth in China and what it termed as “effective cost performance across the globe.” It is a stunning comeback from bankruptcy, as well as repudiation of the largely Republican opposition to the bailout. The potential problem is GM’s dependence on truck and SUV sales while it is cutting back car production. The stock market remains leery of the company. (January U.S. Auto Sales Post Traditional Slump and GM Stock Price Soars on IPO Frenzy)

“By almost any measure, 2016 was a great year for our business and I am confident we can achieve even stronger results. We’ll work to build on our momentum, while continuing to drive our company to innovate and shape the future of mobility,” said Mary Barra, Chairman & CEO.

For the year ended Dec. 31, 2016, GM sold a record 10 million vehicles around the world, up 1.2 percent from 2015. In Q4, GM sold 2.78 million vehicles, up 3.3 percent compared to Q4 2015. December 2016 global volume of 1.05 million units was the highest in the company’s history, capping the fourth consecutive record year for global deliveries. For the full year, GM sold 3.04 million vehicles in the U.S. and increased retail share 0.5 percentage points – more than any full-line automaker. In China, deliveries increased 7.1 percent to a record 3.87 million vehicles. In Europe, Opel/ Vauxhall posted a 4.0-percent sales increase.

 Full-year 2016 GM Records:

• EBIT-adjusted of $12.5 billion, up 15.9 percent
• EBIT-adjusted margin of 7.5 percent, up 0.4 percentage points
• EPS-diluted of $6.00, up 1.5 percent
• EPS-diluted-adjusted of $6.12, up 21.9 percent
• Revenue of $166.4 billion, up 9.2 percent
• Automotive-adjusted free cash flow of $6.9 billion, up $4.7 billion
• North America EBIT-adjusted of $12.0 billion.

 Fourth-quarter 2016 GM Records:

• Revenue of $43.9 billion, up 10.8 percent
• ROIC-adjusted of 28.9 percent, up from 27.2 percent

GM Outlook

GM expects to deliver full-year 2017 EPS-diluted and diluted-adjusted of $6.00-$6.50; maintain or improve EBIT-adjusted and EBIT-adjusted margin; and generate higher revenues, compared to 2016. The company also expects to generate about $15 billion in automotive operating cash flow and about $6 billion in adjusted automotive free cash flow. These measures do not consider potential future adjustments.

GM thinks its global volume from new or refreshed vehicles to grow to 38 percent from 2017-2020, up from 26 percent in the 2011-2016 period. New or refreshed crossovers, trucks and SUVs are expected to represent most this volume between 2017-2020. The company raised its cost efficiency target for2015-2018 to $6.5 billion, an increase of $1 billion.