Logo on the Renaissance Center's 740 foot high, 73-floor hotel tower identifies the complex as General Motors Global Headquarters.

General Motors Company should be profitable this year even though its European operations are a mess, said Chris Liddell, GM’s new chief financial officer.

In Europe for 2009, General Motors  suffered from its well-publicized bankruptcy, problems at Saab and Opel/Vauxhall, as group sales for all brands dropped more than 9%. GM’s share settled at 9% for fifth place, with it losing almost 2 percentage points in share.

Liddell also stressed at a meeting with reporters today that he was not offering any kind of official  financial guidance to investors or analysts.

But he said the automaker has a chance of being profitable in 2010. GM’s operations in China and Latin America already are profitable, North American is “in the middle” while GM’s European operations are struggling.

“ I think we have a reasonable chance of being profitable this year,” said Liddell, who was initially recruited from Microsoft by former GM CEO Fritz Henderson.

Liddell said GM’s profitability and the future stock offering are interconnected. “There are a large number of factors that go into the decision,” to launch an initial public offering of new common stock, he said.   

“ We need the right conditions. The economy needs to look reasonably strong and the market needs to be good. You don’t want to go into a market that’s not receptive,” he said.
Liddell did not rule out a GM IPO during the second half of 2010, however.

“ I would say it’s still possible,” he said. “But I don’t want to be driven by a timetable. The timing has to be right.”

The U.S. and Canadian taxpayers own more than 60% of the stock.

Other than meeting reporting requirements specified under terms of the federal bailout, the Treasury hasn’t tried to dictate the company’s strategy since he joined the company in January after stepping down from his post as CFO at Microsoft.

“ I haven’t received any guidance from them,” he said. “I don’t treat them any differently than I do any other shareholder.

“ An IPO is only the first step in the government selling down its share. It could take a number of years,” to unwind the Treasury Department position, Liddell said, adding, “It’s going to be dependent on the market” for the shares.

Liddell said he found GM’s tradition and culture are receptive to change.

“ You have to understand the huge transformation this company has gone through in the last couple of years,” he said.

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