General Motors Co. announced first quarter 2012 earnings with net income of 1.0 billion, down from $3.2 billion in 1Q11. Net revenue was $37.8 billion, up $1.6 billion compared to 1Q11.

“The U.S. economic recovery, record demand for GM vehicles in China and the global growth of the Chevrolet brand helped deliver solid earnings for General Motors,” said Dan Akerson, chairman and CEO. “New products are starting to make a difference in South America, but Europe remains a work in progress. We’ll continue to work on both revenue and cost opportunities until we have brought GM to competitive levels of profitability.”

GM North America reported EBIT-adjusted of $1.7 billion, up $0.4 billion from last year’s first quarter. GM Europe reported a EBIT-adjusted loss while International Operations dropped $0.1 billion and GM South America stayed flat compared to 1Q11. GM has increased its full-year 2012 U.S. light vehicle sales forecast from 13.5-14.0 million units to 14.0– 14.5 million range due to pent-up demand. Based on this increase, GM expects the second and third quarters of 2012 to be comparable to 1Q12 due to the scheduled downtime at factories that produce full-size trucks.

“We are aggressively eliminating complexity to reduce our costs, and at that same time, we are preparing for more than 20 major vehicle launches around the world in 2012 to drive revenue this year and farther into the future,” said GM’s senior vice president and CFO.

Source: General Motors Co.