NEW YORK, Aug 2: General Motors, the largest US automaker, reported a 40 per cent drop in second-quarter profit as sales took a hit from a stronger dollar and Europe’s financial woes weighed. GM reported net income of $1.5 billion, or 90 cents per share, in the April-June period, compared with the year-ago profit of $2.5 billion.

Net revenue also declined substantially, to $37.6 billion from $39.4 billion a year earlier. “The decrease was due almost entirely to the strengthening of the US dollar versus other major currencies,” GM, based in Detroit, Michigan, said in a statement. Earnings per share beat market expectations of 74 cents, but revenue missed the $38.58 billion estimate.

GM chairman and chief executive Dan Akerson noted that despite a challenging environment, GM had now posted 10 consecutive quarters of profitability, following its government bailout amid the 2008-2009 financial crisis.

“But we clearly have more work to do to offset the headwinds we face, especially in regions like Europe and South America,” Akerson said in the statement. GM increased global vehicle deliveries by 100,000, to 4.2 million in the second quarter, as its share of the key — and growing — the US market fell to 17.7. per cent from 19.6 per cent a year ago.—AFP