GM Said to Repay Government $6.7 Billion Sooner Than Required
General Motors Co., the largest U.S. automaker, will repay $6.7 billion of the $49.9 billion in aid it received from the federal government starting next month, more than five years sooner than required.
GM plans to make a payment of $1 billion a quarter, with the first installment Dec. 31. The Treasury Department is unlikely to recover all of the aid it provided, a congressional oversight panel said in a report Sept. 9.
Detroit-based GM is working to overhaul its operations and return to a profit after filing for Chapter 11 protection June 1 in the wake of $88 billion in losses since 2004. The company is able to start repaying aid because it has a stronger financial position than anticipated.
GM isn’t obligated to make a payment until July 20, 2015. At $1 billion a quarter, the $6.7 billion would be repaid by the second quarter of 2011. The carmaker plans to release third-quarter preliminary results tomorrow.
The automaker is trying to build on its results in October, when its monthly U.S. sales rose for the first time since January 2008 and market share topped 20 percent. GM sales of cars and trucks rose 6.6 percent in October.
GM is cutting its U.S. brands from eight to four as part of the government restructuring. The automaker is retaining Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC.
| NIFTY 
