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Administration March 10, 2003
GM: 2003 Pension Costs Up $1B
October 15, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - General Motors
Corp topped third-quarter earnings expectations excluding
special items, but the company warned that weakness in the
stock market will cause its pension expense to increase next
year.
Reported by Fred Schneyer
During a Tuesday conference call, GM Chief Financial Officer John Devine said that poor equity market returns will increase 2003 pension expense by roughly $1 billion after tax, or $1.80 per share, Dow Jones reported.
GM said the return on pension assets fell 10% through September, Dow Jones reported.
Despite rising pension costs, Devine said the company hasn’t backed off its $10 a share earnings target by mid-decade
Already, GM has strengthened its balance sheet by $10 billion this year without a Hughes deal, Devine said.
GM attributed its strong performance in the third quarter to cost-cutting in North America and strong sales of several new products.