GM results lag US competitors

GENERAL MOTORS continued to reduce its losses in North America in the first quarter, but its recovery lags well behind its US competitors, Ford and Chrysler.

While the other two Detroit car makers made strong gains at the expense of Japanese rivals, GM continued to lose market share in North America, and its operations lost dollars 194m in the first three months.

Overall, GM earned dollars 513m - slightly less than the dollars 572m reported on Wednesday by the much smaller Ford - thanks to strong results at its Hughes Electronics and Electronic Data Systems subsidiaries. GM's European car-making operations remained profitable despite deteriorating markets, making dollars 162m compared with dollars 482m a year ago.

GM's result, which compares with an operating loss of dollars 167m a year ago, came on turnover of dollars 35bn, an 8.4 per cent increase over its 1992 first quarter. GM's chief executive, Jack Smith, said he was encouraged by the performance, but said GM 'still has a long way to go before we are satisfied'.

Mr Smith hopes to see GM's North American car-making operations - which have lost more than dollars 16bn since 1990 - break even before taxes this year. He said the first-quarter results, dollars 1.5bn better than a year ago, were on track but management would keep up cost-cutting efforts.