Earnings roundup

A General Motors dealership in Andover. The automaker posted a $9.6 billion fourth-quarter loss and said it burned through $6.2 billion of cash in the last three months of 2008. (Elise Amendola/Associated Press)

General Motors Corp. reported a $30.9 billion annual loss, the second-biggest in its 100-year history, as chief executive Rick Wagoner asked the Treasury for more cash to survive through 2009.

GM's cumulative deficit ballooned to $82 billion since the end of 2004, when the biggest US automaker last had an annual profit. Full-year sales fell 17 percent to $149 billion, damped by a recession that ravaged new-car demand, GM said yesterday.

"The size of the loss matters not only because it impacts what it will cost to restructure the company, but also the kind of bill for which the taxpayer is on the hook," said John Casesa, a managing partner at consultant Casesa Shapiro Group LLC in New York.

Cash and cash equivalents totaled $14 billion on Dec. 31, down from $27.3 billion a year earlier and near the $11 billion minimum GM says it needs to pay bills.

GM's loss for all of 2008 was exceeded only by 2007's $38.7 billion deficit and was the equivalent of $3.5 million hourly for the full year.

The fourth-quarter net loss was $9.6 billion, or $15.71 a share, wider than the year-earlier net loss from continuing operations of $1.5 billion, or $2.70, GM said in a statement. Excluding some expenses, the operating loss was $9.65 a share, wider than the $7.46 average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Sales plunged 34 percent to $30.8 billion.

The quarterly operating net loss a year earlier excluded results from the Allison transmission unit, which has been sold. With that unit, the 2007 fourth-quarter loss was $722 million, or $1.28 a share.

One-time costs last quarter totaled $3.7 billion, including a $1.1 billion related to writing down the assets of Hummer and Saab, two brands GM is seeking to shed.

Bloomberg

Iron Mountain Inc. reported its fourth-quarter profit fell 96 percent as it was hurt by foreign exchange rates and one-time tax costs related to currency hedges.

The data storage company earned $1 million, or a penny a share, in the quarter ended Dec. 31. That compares with $28 million, or 14 cents per share, a year earlier.

The company said it was hurt by the declining values of the Canadian dollar and the British pound in relation to the dollar. These declines and related tax charges cost the company 20 cents per share in the quarter.

Additionally, the company posted a loss of $2.8 million on the disposal of property during the quarter, compared with a gain on property disposal of $833,000 a year earlier.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who typically exclude one-time costs, had expected profit of 17 cents per share and revenue of $752.8 million.

Revenue rose 3.5 percent to $752.6 million from $727 million.

For all of 2008, the company's profit fell 46 percent to $82 million, or 40 cents per share, from $153.1 million, or 76 cents per share, the year before. Revenue rose 12 percent to $3.06 billion from $2.73 billion.

Associated Press

American Tower Corp., the second-largest US operator of cellphone towers, rose the most in three months in New York trading as fourth-quarter profit beat analysts' estimates on growing wireless demand.

Net income was $85.8 million, or 21 cents a share, versus a loss of $5.55 million, or 1 cent, a year earlier, the Boston company said yesterday in a statement. Eleven analysts surveyed by Bloomberg projected 14 cents, on average.

The combination of competition between wireless carriers and growth in consumer usage increased demand for towers, chief executive Jim Taiclet said in the statement. Revenue gained 8 percent to $408.3 million.

American Tower shares have declined 8.5 percent this year before yesterday.

Bloomberg

Sonus Networks Inc. posted a fourth-quarter loss amid a one-time tax charge and declining sales.

The Westford company, which makes Internet network hardware and software, disclosed a loss of $99.9 million, or 37 cents per share, compared with a profit of $14.1 million, or 5 cents per share, a year earlier.

The latest quarter included an $87.3 million charge related to an increase in the company's valuation allowance.

Revenue fell 8 percent to $89.5 million from $97.1 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a loss of 2 cents per share and sales of $64.1 million.

For the full year, Sonus posted a loss of $118.8 million, or 44 cents per share, compared with a loss of $23.6 million, or 9 cents per share, in 2007. On an adjusted basis, the loss came to $113.6 million, or 42 cents per share.

Revenue declined slightly to $313.1 million from $319.4 million. In April 2008, Sonus completed the acquisition of Atreus Systems.

Associated Press