GM earnings jump 89 percent in fourth quarter

General Motors’ fourth quarter earnings jumped 89 percent but were held back by $700 million in losses on its European operations, the company said Thursday.

The top US automaker earned a net $892 million in the quarter to December 31, compared to $472 million a year earlier.

The figures were buoyed by a turnaround in South America, where the company swung from a loss in the year-earlier quarter to a $99 million gain, and in its Asia-Africa division, where earnings jumped $100 million to $473 million.

Earnings per share came in at 54 cents for the quarter, compared to 28 cents a year ago.

For the full year 2012 GM reported $4.86 billion in net income — down 36 percent from a year earlier, with special items having boosted 2011 earnings sharply and also taking nearly $500 million from 2012’s final figure.

“We recorded another solid year in 2012 as we grew the business, delivered a third straight year of profitability and took significant actions to put the company on a solid path for future growth,” said Dan Akerson, chairman and chief executive.

“This year our priorities will be executing flawless new vehicle launches, controlling costs and delivering more vehicles to our customers at outstanding value.”