GM nearly doubles 3rd quarter profit

Staff/wire report

DETROIT

Big profits from rising SUV and truck sales in North America helped General Motors nearly double its third-quarter net profit and more than offset its struggles in Europe and South America.

The automaker posted net income of $1.38 billion, or 81 cents per share. In the year-ago quarter, GM made $698 million, or 45 cents per share.

The July-September quarter was the first this year without significant charges for recalls. GM has issued 75 recalls in 2014 covering more than 30 million vehicles, costing the company more than $2.8 billion.

Without $331 million in one-time items, GM would have made 97 cents per share, exceeding Wall Street’s expectations. Analysts polled by FactSet expected 95 cents.

Revenue grew 2 percent to $39.25 billion, above expectations of $38.79 billion. GM shares rose more than 2 percent in premarket trading.

Read more about the company's progress in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.