US car manufacturer General Motors' reported a record profit of $7.6 billion, substantially surpassing the previous record of $6.7 billion (£4.2 billion)earned in 1997 and far outpacing 2010's $4.7 billion.
Its plan to raise prices in the US has off set its problems in Europe.
GM chief executive Dan Akerson said it is focused on tackling the problems in Europe and South America, the two markets that dragged on fourth-quarter results.
General Motors lost $562 million in Europe and $225 million in South America. By contrast, it earned $1.5 billion in its home market.
The record profit did not meet analysts expectations. Analysts had forecasted that GM would earn net income of $8 billion or slightly more. The fourth quarter proved particularly disappointing. GM made $468 million, down from $510 million a year ago, marking its lowest quarterly profit since the automaker's initial public offering in November 2010.
