GM Profit Expected to Fall to 25 Cents Per Share in First Quarter

Alison Fitzgerald, Bloomberg News reported today that General Motors Corp. will say Wednesday that first-quarter profit fell because the largest automaker cut production to reduce dealer inventories as vehicle sales slowed. Profit will fall to 25 cents a share from $2.80 a year earlier, based on the average estimate of analysts in a First Call/Thomson Financial survey. That matches a forecast the automaker made to analysts at a Feb. 22 meeting.