$323 million turnaround has taken Holden back into the black

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A $323 million turnaround has taken Holden back into the black for the first time in six years.

It today reports a $112 million pre-tax profit for 2010, a massive improvement over the $211 million it lost on its operations in 2009.


The result comes after a huge restructuring at Fishermans Bend and despite the huge investment program to begin local production of the Cruze compact at Elizabeth in South Australia.

Holden says it was helped by a boost in income to $4.4 billion, a result that came as a result of both the third-highest local sales on record and an increase in its export earnings.

It was also helped by the 15th straight year of Commodore sales leadership, as its showroom result in 2010 improved by more than 10 per cent.

"Holden domestic vehicle sales were up 11 per cent from 2009, vehicle exports rose 13 per cent and engine exports were up 25 per cent. This growth was underpinned by more efficient and robust manufacturing, delivering consolidated revenue of $4.4 billion in 2010 compared to $3.8 billion in 2009," says the company's chief financial officer, Mark Bernhard.

But it is the longer-term work on restructuring - what previous chairman Mark Reuss called 'right sizing' during his time in the top job at Holden - which will deliver a sustainable future for the company.

“The measures we took to re-structure our organisation and reduce costs during this period saw us emerge as a leaner, more flexible automotive manufacturer," says Bernhard.