GM is Profitable a Year After Bankruptcy

General Motors reported its first full year of profitability today, making 2010 the first time the automaker has posted profits since 2004. The company’s Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell said it was GM’s best year in a decade.

It’s hard to fathom that the company went through a structured bankruptcy in June 2009 with the help of the federal government. In less than two years and the first full fiscal year since that reorganization, the company is not only profitable but thriving as car sales nationally increase with a slowly rebounding economy.

The company made $4.7 billion in 2010, which is a dramatic turnaround from the $4.4 billion it lost in 2009. GM’s 45,000 hourly employees were given bonuses of $4,300, with another 3,000 workers earning $3,200 in bonuses.

The government still owns 26% of the company in stock. However, GM’s stock traded below $33 today. The initial price of the stock when it was issued late last year was $33. The government likely won’t sell off the remaining shares until they’re worth more to offset the funds that helped GM through bankruptcy.

GM posts first full-year profit since ’04; stock dips below IPO (Detroit News)