General Motors Co posted on Wednesday a $4.3 billion net loss from the time of its emergence from bankruptcy in July through the end of the year and said it believes a profit is possible in 2010.

GM also reported a $3.4 billion fourth-quarter net loss and said it is committed to repaying the outstanding balances on its U.S. Treasury and Export Development Canada loans by June at the latest.

Completing the fresh start accounting process lays the groundwork for GM to launch an initial public offering that would reduce the U.S. government's majority stake in the automaker. The timing of an offering is unclear.

Completing fresh-start accounting is an important step in that process, GM Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell said in a statement on the possibility of returning to public ownership.

GM said that going public would enable the automaker to invest in vehicle designs and sales, attract the best people and gain access to the capital markets.

(Reporting by Soyoung Kim, David Bailey and Bernie Woodall, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

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