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Washington - General Motors said Thursday its profits hit $1.3bn in the second quarter, as the car firm prepared to break free of government ownership by relisting on the stock exchange.
"I am pleased with our progress on achieving our business objectives," said chief financial officer Chris Liddell, announcing the second consecutive quarter of growth.
The company erased a loss of $13bn in the same period last year, as sales and revenues increased.
The firm saw stronger sales in North America in the quarter, even as sales in Europe floundered and market share around the world sank.
GM captured 15.4% of the US market for cars versus 17.5% in the second quarter of last year, but elsewhere faired poorly.
GM's executives have said that a public offering will come soon, a process that will help the government unwind its majority stake in the firm.
The Treasury Department still owns 61% of GM, which received $50bn of government financing for its bankruptcy restructuring that led to mass layoffs, plant closures and billions of dollars in debt wiped out.
GM's drive for an IPO will be boosted by news that the firms revenues swelled to $33bn in the second quarter, a third more than the same period last year.
GM as well as its US competitors Ford and Chrysler were hard hit by the recession which struck the United States in December 2007, caused by a home mortgage meltdown.
Of the so-called Detroit Three carmakers, Ford was the only one to avoid bankruptcy, managing to stay afloat thanks to massive loans it had obtained prior to the credit crunch and because it moved more quickly to revitalise its product portfolio.
- AFP
