GM to delay, restate results

General Motors Corp. said Thursday that it would delay its fourth-quarter financial report and restate past results because of tax accounting issues.

The automaker lost about $3 billion in the first three quarters last year but said it expected to report a profit in the fourth quarter, with net income expected to “improve significantly” over year-earlier levels.

GM had been scheduled to report fourth-quarter and full-year results Jan. 30. The company said it would provide further information on the progress of its financial reporting next week and expected to file its annual report by March 1.

The automaker, which has been the target of an inquiry by the Securities and Exchange Commission over its accounting, said it had overstated deferred tax liabilities in the third quarter of 2006 and previous periods.

GM said retained earnings as of Dec. 31, 2001, and subsequent periods were understated by $450 million to $600 million. The automaker added that the errors would not affect cash flow or previously reported cash balances.

GM last year also restated its 2005 results, increasing its annual loss by $2 billion to $10.6 billion. At that time, it also restated earnings from 2000 through 2004 as a result of the erroneous booking of payments and credits it received from suppliers -- a key issue the SEC has been examining.

“It’s concerning that this is becoming a pattern, but it does not really reflect on their financial condition right now,” Fitch Ratings managing director Mark Oline said. “There is nothing in there that causes near-term concern.”

GM also said that its General Motors Acceptance Corp. unit was still working on its financial statements for 2006, contributing to the delay in GM’s results. GM sold a 51% interest in GMAC last year.

The automaker said it ended the year with $26.4 billion in cash and equivalents, up $5.9 billion from a year earlier.