GM Reports 2012 Net Income of $4.9 Billion

General Motors reported its full-year 2012 earnings of $4.9 billion in net income on Thursday, Feb. 14. This amount is down from $7.6 billion in 2011. This reduction is due to what the automaker said were unfavorable special items (i.e. non-recurring credits or charges that aren’t representative of normal business activity).

Full-year earnings before interest and taxes were $7.9 billion, down from $8.3 billion in 2011. GM said this number includes the impact of $0.4 billion in restructuring charges. Total revenue increased 1% in 2012, to $152.3 billion, compared with $150.3 billion in 2011.

In North America, GM reported EBIT-adjusted earnings of $1.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2012 compared with $1.5 billion in 2011. The automaker plans to pay profit sharing of up to $6,750 to approximately 49,000 eligible GM hourly employees in the U.S.

GM Europe’s EBIT-adjusted earnings for 2012 were $2.2 billion, compared with $1.9 billion in 2011. GM South America reported EBIT-adjusted earnings of $0.3 billion in 2012 compared with an EBIT-adjusted loss of $0.1 billion in 2011. GM Financial reported full-year earnings before taxes of $0.7 billion, up over the $0.6 billion in 2011.

Regarding the automaker’s U.S. pension obligations, GM said its defined benefit pension plans earned asset returns of 11.6% in 2012 and ended the year at 84% funded. During 2012, GM settled approximately $28 billion of its U.S. salaried pension liability through a mix of lump sum offers and annuitizations. The automaker said it doesn’t expect to pay any mandatory contributions to U.S. defined benefit pension plans for at least five years, though voluntary cash contributions are possible after 2013.