GM to Share Record Spoils With Investors by Raising Dividends

Less than a week after reporting the largest annual profit in its history, General Motors Corp. said Monday that it will share the wealth with stockholders by raising the dividends on all three categories of its common stock.

The dividend on GM common stock was raised 10 cents, to 40 cents a share, payable March 9 to holders of record on Feb. 15. The last increase was in May, when it was raised to 30 cents from 20 cents.

“We’re confident this increase . . . can be sustained over the long term, thanks to the fundamental profitability improvements we’ve been able to achieve as well as the continued strengthening of our balance sheet and ongoing improvement in our cash flow,” Chairman Jack Smith said.

Last week, the No. 1 auto maker reported 1995 earnings of $6.9 billion, a 40% increase from 1994’s $4.9 billion, the previous record.

Meanwhile, Ford Motor Co. on Monday reported an overall decline in its U.S. sales last month, despite a monthly record for the Explorer sport-utility vehicle and a January record for the Taurus sedan.

GM shares rose 87.5 cents to close at $52.875, while Ford was unchanged at $29.875. Both trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

The report by Ford, the No. 2 auto maker, completed an industry scorecard for January showing that U.S. sales of cars and light trucks by 22 companies were down 1.6% from year ago. The trade journal Ward’s Automotive Reports estimated that January’s East Coast blizzard may have been responsible for a 1% decline.

Ford’s daily sales rate for passenger cars was down 9.4% for the month, while its deliveries of pickups, vans and sport-utilities grew 2.6% from a year ago. The Explorer, the nation’s top-selling sport-utility, had its 12th consecutive monthly record, and Ford’s F-series pickups had the best January since 1979.

January was a recovery month for the Taurus, fueled by rebates Ford began offering in an effort to jump-start sales, which had been declining against year-ago totals since fall.

Robert L. Rewey, group vice president for marketing and sales at Ford, said the performance was particularly significant because the Taurus draws much of its business from the Northeast, where dealers were affected by the blizzard.

GM, Chrysler Corp. and most of the foreign auto makers reported January sales last week. GM sales were down 1.8% from a year ago, based on daily sales rate. Chrysler, powered by strong demand for its new minivans, reported a 7.1% increase for January.

The largest foreign-based companies had mixed results. Sales for Toyota Motor Corp. were down 17.3% from January 1995, while Nissan Motor Corp.’s increased 2.9% and Honda Motor Corp.’s were up 1.4%.

The Big Three domestic companies combined were about even with a year ago, down 0.6%. The Asian auto makers saw sales decline 6.5%, and European sales increased 11.9%.

Nearly 45% of the new light vehicles sold last month in the United States were pickups, vans or sport-utility vehicles.