GM’s Q1 Profit?

A revised financial report form General Motors Corp. released today, shows the Detroit automaker as having made a U.S. $445 million dollar profit, as opposed to a U.S. $323 million loss, as was previously stated.
The new-found profit, the companies first in six quarters, is largely attributable to an alteration in the way GM will record its workers health care obligations,
According to the report, GM will make payments totaling U.S. $3 billion into a benefit association in equal payments this year, next year, and in 2011. This new payment structure was decided upon, instead of making a one billion dollar contribution in this quarter.
The new structure will allow GM to spread the total dollar amount over the next seven years, as opposed to the shorter timeline previously in place.
A second major factor in the revised earnings, has to do with the international currency market, and GM’s lucrative sale of its holdings in Suzuki Motor Corp. According to the report, recent fluctuations in the value of the Yen, have made the sale worth some $55 million more than was originally assumed.
While the company is still undergoing major restructuring, some analysts and company insiders suggest that the overall profit, as well as a narrowing of North American losses, shows that things are looking up.
“The first quarter shows signs of progress for us,” said GM spokesman Jerry Dubrowski.