GM profit races past expectations despite global chip shortage

[May 05, 2021]    By Nick Carey and Ben Klayman
 
 (Reuters) -General Motors Co on Wednesday posted a better-than-expected first-quarter profit despite a global semiconductor chip shortage that shuttered some plants, and said it expected full-year pretax profit to come in at the high end of its forecast.

The new GM logo is seen on the facade of the General Motors headquarters in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., March 16, 2021. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook

"The speed and agility of our team are front and center as we move from managing through a pandemic to managing the global semiconductor shortage," Chief Executive Mary Barra said in a letter to shareholders. "This remains a challenging period for the company as we emerge from 2020."

Barra added that the No. 1 U.S. automaker's "supply chain and manufacturing teams are maximizing production of high-demand and capacity-constrained vehicles."

GM reiterated its full-year 2021 earnings guidance and said "based on what we know today," its results will be at the upper end of the $10 billion to $11 billion adjusted pretax profit it has previously forecast.

The No. 1 U.S. automaker posted a first-quarter net profit of $3 billion, or $2.03 per share, up from $294 million or 17 cents per share a year earlier. Excluding items, the company earned $2.25 per share, well above analyst expectations of $1.04 per share.

(Reporting by Nick Carey, editing by Louise Heavens and Bernadette Baum)

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