Wally Edgar Chevrolet -- GM's Whitacre Pumps Up GM's Position

Aug. 5, 2010 - PRLog -- GM CEO ED WHITACRE  saying people will be impressed by the company’s second quarter earnings, and says he expects strong demand when the company issues its long awaited initial public offering of stock.

“If you liked the first quarter financial results, stay tuned for our second quarter financial results next week,” said Whitacre, at the Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City.

GM made 865 million in the first quarter.  Whitacre hinting that the second quarter will be better than that.  No specifics will be available until the figures are actually released.

“You’ll like it.  It’ll be good.  It’ll be impressive, I think,” said Whitacre, in response to a question from WWJ AutoBeat Reporter Jeff Gilbert.
Despite earlier reports, General Motors may not be filing paperwork for it’s initial public offering next week.  Whitacre says those papers are being drafted, and it’s hard to give a timetable, other than, “as soon as possible.”

“We don’t like this label of  ‘Government Motors,” said Whitacre.   We want to get away from that.  We know that’s turned off customers.  It turned us off.  People from GM are embarrased by that.”

The U.S. government currently owns a 61 per cent stake in General Motors, in exchange for $50 billion in aid.  G.M.’s  repaid $6.7 billion in loans provided by the government.

Whitacre says he hopes that the initial sale of stock will be enough to end the government’s controlling interest in the company.  He expects strong demand for GM stock when it goes on the market.

“The people I talk with say this has the potential to be the biggest initial public offering, or IPO ever,” he said.   “I’m optomistic that will happen.”

Whitacre also said General Motors has brought back about seven thousand workers since its bankruptcy, and hopes to hire more, if the economy improves.  He said they are also looking at reopening an idled plant, but he wouldn’t give specifics.

But Whitacre said the top short term goal at General Motors is to become public and profitable, and have a good stock price.

“We want the government out, period!  We don’t want to be known as ‘Government Motors.”

Source:Jeff Gilbert WWJ Detroit.

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