GM powers to record $9.7 billion annual profit

Riding on strong profits from sport utility vehicles and truck sales in North America and China and a reversal of fortunes in Europe, General Motors posted a record-setting profit of $9.7 billion last year.

The profit more than doubled GM’s 2014 earnings, aided in part by a $3.9 billion fourth-quarter accounting gain because prospects for turning a profit in Europe are good.

Excluding special items, GM earned $5.02 per share for the year, beating Wall Street estimates of $4.82. Profits were fueled by strong SUV and truck sales largely in North America. Full-year revenue fell just over 2 percent to $152.4 billion, but still beat analyst estimates of $144.9 billion.

Earnings were so strong that most of GM’s 49,600 hourly workers will get $11,000 profit-sharing checks on Feb. 26. The checks were based on North American pretax earnings, which hit a record of just over $11 billion for the year.

“We continue to strengthen our core business, which is laying the foundation for the company to lead in the transformation to personal mobility,” CEO Mary Barra said in a statement.

GM’s Arlington plant, widely considered by analysts to be the company’s most profitable, played a crucial role in the earnings report. The North Texas location is where all of GM's full-size SUVs are manufactured, including Chevrolet Tahoes and Suburbans, GMC Yukons and Cadillac Escalades.

The plant, where about 4,000 employees work, built 331,500 vehicles in 2015 — a whopping 18.4 percent increase from the year before

GM recently invested $500 million in ride-hailing service Lyft and has announced plans to start its own car-sharing services in metro areas worldwide as it prepares for the next generation of transportation.

For the fourth quarter, GM posted a $6.3 billion net profit. Without special items, the company earned $1.39 per share, beating estimates of $1.20. Fourth-quarter revenue was flat at $39.6 billion, just below Wall Street estimates.

This story contains material from the Star-Telegram archives.

This story was originally published February 3, 2016 at 5:08 PM with the headline "GM powers to record $9.7 billion annual profit."