US: GM’s profit misses forecasts

GENERAL Motors (GM) posted a first-quarter profit of $900 million (R10.9 billion), which missed estimates as struggles in Russia and Brazil undermined strong sales of light trucks in the US. The company said yesterday that adjusted earnings per share almost tripled to 86c, short of the average analyst estimate for 97c. A year earlier, GM had earned 29c on that basis, the US firm said. The company took a charge of about $400m for restructuring its operations in Russia. It recalled 2.59 million small cars to replace a faulty ignition switch. As of April 17, 87 deaths had been linked to the defect. – Bloomberg