General Motors Loss: Write-Down Leads to $39 Billion Loss

General Motors Loss: Write-Down Leads to $39 Billion Loss

General Motors Wednesday reported a third-quarter net loss of $39 billion, its largest in history, after the automaker took a non-cash charge of future tax benefits.

Without those charges, GM still showed a loss for the quarter of $1.6 billion, compared to a profit of $497 million a year ago.

GM's North American automotive operations posted a loss of $247 million, an improvement from an adjusted loss of $660 million in the year-ago quarter. GM reported record high automotive revenue of $43.1 billion for the quarter, up from $29.6 billion a year ago.

While analysts had not predicted the write-down, most said it is largely a paper loss that does not affect GM's long-term prospects.

Fritz Henderson, GM's vice chairman and chief financial officer, said the charge does not imperil the automaker's long-term financial outlook.

"GM continues to believe that its new product introductions, combined with the new GM-UAW labor agreement, once fully implemented, will significantly improve GM's competitive position in the U.S.,"  Henderson said in a statement.

Michelle Krebs:  is Editor-in-Chief of AutoObserver.com. Follow @AutoObserver on Twitter.