Auto Bailout: GM May Axe Pontiac, Hummer, Saturn and Saab

US News ^ | Dec 01, 2008 | US News

[Cronos]

fuel prices will go back up to $70 a barrel by 2010.

[winodog]

As markets open today, GM's total net worth is just slightly over $3 billion, and the company is believed to have less than a one-month supply of cash on hand.

Thats astounding. GM is only worth three billion. Let them go down the new world order drainhole. America has entered a new age where manufacturing is done by robots or slave labor. The free traders have all the problems solved.

The reps and dems both agreed on this and you know they must be right when they both agree. Unless its true that we have a evil party and a stupid party. Once in a blue moon they agree and do something stupid and evil. Thats called bi-partnership.

[-YYZ-]

I can see keeping Caddilac around as an upscale brand, like Lexus, Acura or Infiniti. I really don’t see the point of keeping the Buick brand around. How many distinct models does Buick even have, these days?

I’d be sorry to see Saab disappear, although GM has pretty much watered that brand down by slapping the Saab name on several lightly reworked GMs (and a Subaru, too, I believe).

[Cronos]

GM's problems aren't caused by free trade. The problem is that GM has

1. legacy costs dating from the time (50s, 60s) when the US was the ONLY manufacturing power around and everyone else was recovering from the war and / or colonialism. Now, you have a highly industrialised Europe and Japan and a rapidly industrialising China and India.
2. not listened to it's customers over the years

[Yo-Yo]

GM's market capitalization is $3 billion. It's net worth, if sold off in pieces including property, machinery, etc., is much higher.

GM Key Statistics:

Data provided by Capital IQ, except where noted.

VALUATION MEASURES

Market Cap (intraday): 2.86B
Enterprise Value (4-Dec-08): 32.25B
Trailing P/E (ttm, intraday): N/A
Forward P/E (fye 31-Dec-09) : N/A
PEG Ratio (5 yr expected): N/A
Price/Sales (ttm): 0.02
Price/Book (mrq): N/A
Enterprise Value/Revenue (ttm): 0.19
Enterprise Value/EBITDA (ttm): -22.839

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Fiscal Year
Fiscal Year Ends: 31-Dec
Most Recent Quarter (mrq): 30-Sep-08

Profitability
Profit Margin (ttm): -13.24%
Operating Margin (ttm): -6.05%

Management Effectiveness
Return on Assets (ttm): -4.83%
Return on Equity (ttm): N/A

Income Statement
Revenue (ttm): 166.10B
Revenue Per Share (ttm): 292.691
Qtrly Revenue Growth (yoy): -13.20%
Gross Profit (ttm): 12.12B
EBITDA (ttm): -1.41B
Net Income Avl to Common (ttm): -22.79B
Diluted EPS (ttm): -38.742
Qtrly Earnings Growth (yoy): N/A

Balance Sheet
Total Cash (mrq): 15.90B
Total Cash Per Share (mrq): 26.043
Total Debt (mrq): 45.16B
Total Debt/Equity (mrq): N/A
Current Ratio (mrq): 0.729
Book Value Per Share (mrq): -98.185997

Cash Flow Statement
Operating Cash Flow (ttm): -5.79B
Levered Free Cash Flow (ttm): -10.76B

[HamiltonJay]

This is what GM should have been doing all along... trim its rediculous number of pointless brands, and file for Chap 11, not going to DC begging for handouts.

[bmwcyle]

They can’t. It is selling well in China and they make a profit there is the Buick line.

[tuffie1]

You are right. I have a saturn outlook and I love it. I don’t know anyone who drives a buick.

[DennisR]

Whatever they do, they should cut way down on the models of cars they produce. Take a lesson from Honda: Fit, Civic, Accord, Pilot, Ridgeliner, Odyssey - maybe I missed one or two. Then build QUALITY into the cars. I have owned Hondas for 20 years - nary a problem. Family members with GMs? Many expensive problems. GM is just stretched too far, so quality suffers.

[al_c]

Saturn?! When they're finally building cars that are actually cool? Bad move, IMO. My questions to GM ... why have GMC and Chevy trucks? Why build Cadillac "trucks?"

Yeah ... lose the Hummer and Saab brands. And quit duplicating cars across brands. The same vehicle does NOT need to be sold as Chevy, Pontiac and Saturn ... or Chevy, GM, Cadillac ... or Chevy, Buick, Pontiac ... etc.

[fredhead]

Plymouth went away a few years ago, before GM dumped Oldsmobile. Chrysler sells Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep.

[amishman]

Just call it the GMC Lucerne.