GM manages a Q1 profit as the coronavirus pandemic hurts the automaker's global business

• GM reported Q1 2020 earnings that slightly beat expectations.
• Profit declined 87% year-over-year, but was still positive.
• The coronavirus pandemic hurt GM's business internationally, but in North America, SUV and pickup sales drove a positive result.
• The automaker said it aims to restart North American operations May 18; they have been idled since March.
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General Motors reported first-quarter earnings on Wednesday, with topline revenue holding up at $32.7 billion, but profits declining 87% year-over-year, to $294 million for the period.

That worked out to $0.17 per share on an adjusted basis ($0.62 on a non-GAAP basis).

The automaker said it aims to restart North American operations May 18; they have been idled since March.

Strong SUV and pickup-truck sales in the quarter actually helped GM's North American business to make an improved contribution to Q1 EPS — $2.2 billion compared with $1.9 billion in 2019 — but outside of the US and Canada, the automaker endured a steep loss in China due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company said that it has over $33 billion on hand to ride out the crisis, after accessing nearly $20 billion in credit facilities earlier in 2020.

"We are focused on preserving liquidity and taking the right actions today to make the company stronger and more competitive in the long term as we navigate through these unprecedented times," CEO Dhivya Suryadevara said in a statement.

In a conference call with the media, she added that demand from GM's trucks had jumped to 21% in April, up from 13-14% in March, prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. She also said that consumers had shown enthusiasm for buying vehicles online, and that company was seeing strong indications of a recovery in China.

The results beat analyst expectations, and GM shares moves higher by 7% in pre-market trading, to $23.

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