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DETROIT, July 21 (Reuters) - General Motors Corp. on Wednesday posted higher quarterly earnings, boosted by stronger results from both its core automotive business and its credit arm.
GM said its second quarter earnings rose to $1.34 billion, or $2.36 per share, from $901 million, or $1.58 per share in the year-ago quarter.
Analysts had expected GM to post second-quarter earnings of between $2.00 to $2.45 per share, with an average estimate of $2.20 per share, according to Reuters Estimates.
Last month, GM reconfirmed its second-quarter earnings target of $2.00 to $2.25 per share, excluding any one-time items.
GM said on Wednesday that it expects to earn between 75 cents and $1.00 per share in the third quarter, below most analyst projections. Analysts on average had expected the automaker to earn 98 cents, according to Reuters Estimates.
GM's sales rose to $49.15 billion in the second quarter from $45.88 billion previously.
The Detroit automaker on Wednesday affirmed its earnings outlook for 2004 of $7.00 per share. In June, GM said it was on track to meet its 2004 earnings target $7.00 per share, excluding one-time items.