GM posts $30.9 billion annual loss

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} General Motors posted a $9.6 billion net loss in the fourth quarter, propelling its overall loss for the year ended 31 December 2008 to $30.9 billion.   In a quarter which saw its sales plunge to new depths, GM consumed $6.2 billion in cash, avoiding bankruptcy only as a result of a federal bailout. Without the $4 billion federal loan it received on 31 December, GM's cash level would have fallen below the $11 billion to $14 billion it said it needed to continue operations.   The company is expecting to burn through another $14 billion in cash this year, with most of it taking place in the first quarter as the company struggles to deal with weak demand and significant overhead costs.   Operating losses for the fourth quarter in GM's core North American market were $3.5 billion before taxes, compared to a $1.3 billion loss a year earlier. Revenue in the North American unit plunged over 30 percent to $19.3 billion, with GM's market share sliding 1.7 percentage points to 21 percent.   But GM now sells more than half its vehicles outside of North America, and is facing challenges all around the world. The company lost money in Asia-Pacific and Latin America/Africa/Middle East, regions which posted profits for GM a year ago. The situation is worse in Europe, where losses more than quadrupled.   The future of the company may now depend almost entirely on whether it receives more government loans. Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner and other top GM executives were in Washington Thursday to meet with the federal government's auto task force to discuss the turnaround plan it submitted last week.   Bad as they were, however, GM's results would have been worse had it not been for a $533 million gain after its finance unit GMAC, in which GM held a 49 percent stake during the quarter, persuaded its bond holders to agree to swap debt for equity. GMAC become a bank holding company as a result of the debt swap, which significantly reduced GM's stake in the unit.     *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *