GM Loses $1.2 Billion but Notes Improvement

General Motors Co. lost $1.2 billion from the time it left bankruptcy protection through the end of September but the automaker is poised to begin repaying some of the $6.7 billion in U.S. government loans it received with a $1.2 billion payment next month, the Associated Press reported.

The results are better than it reported in previous quarters and are a sign that the No. 1 automaker is starting to turn around its business, AP said.

Third-quarter revenue was $26.4 billion, an improvement over the first quarter when it saw its revenue drop almost 50% from the same period last year, to $22.4 billion, AP said. Revenue was aided by July and August sales from the U.S. government's Cash for Clunkers program.

GM took in $3.3 billion more cash than it spent for the third quarter, far better than the $10 billion the company burned through during the first quarter.