General Motors Announces Return to Profitability

GM, which emerged from bankruptcy last July, earned $865 million on revenue of $31.5 billion. A year ago, GM's predecessor company lost nearly $6 billion on revenue of only $22.4 billion, as sales plunged and the company hurtled toward bankruptcy.

GM had reported losses the two previous quarters since emerging from bankruptcy. But the profit in the first quarter was expected.

“Now that we have achieved profitability, the next step is to achieve sustainable profitability,” Mr. Liddell told reporters at GM’s Detroit headquarters.

GM received US$50-billion of U.S. government financing for its restructuring in bankruptcy and has been aiming to launch an initial public offering that would allow the U.S. government to reduce its majority stake in the automaker later this year.