DETROIT: General Motors Co.’s first-quarter profit of $900 million missed estimates as struggles in Russia and Brazil undermined strong sales of light trucks in the US.

The company said that adjusted earnings per share almost tripled to 86 cents, short of the average analyst estimate for 97 cents.

A year earlier, the company earned 29 cents on that basis, the largest US automaker said in a statement.

GM took a charge of about $400 million for restructuring its operations in Russia.

The less-than-estimated profit shows that while pickups and sport utility vehicles in GM’s home North American market remain strong, the Detroit-based automaker still faces challenges in pivotal overseas markets in Europe and South America, where sluggish economies are making GM’s turnaround plans difficult.

Analysts have been projecting stronger results since the company signaled at a conference in January that its full-year performance would be better than the company had anticipated.

Low interest rates and gasoline prices continue to boost auto sales, especially for high-margin trucks, and GM’s profits have followed.

North America and China are keeping GM’s results solid.

The automaker said this week that global vehicle sales rose 2 percent in the first quarter to 2.4 million vehicles thanks to a 6.1 percent jump in North America, where it earned $2.2 billion, and a 9.4 percent increase in China. Sales in Europe fell 14 percent, GM’s South American business showed a 15 percent decline and its other international markets, which do not count China, reported a 2.3 percent sales drop.

GM reported a $200 million operating loss in Europe, compared with $300 million a year earlier.

The company has targeted this year to break even after losing $1.4 billion in the market last year, including $284 million in the first quarter.

In South America, where GM is also trying to spark a turnaround, the company lost $214 million, compared with a loss of $156 million a year earlier.

GM shares rose 6.5 percent this year through Wednesday as the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 2.4 percent.

The company also took a charge of about $100 million related to its ongoing ignition-switch recall.

GM recalled 2.59 million small cars to replace a faulty ignition switch.

As of April 17, 87 deaths have been linked to the defect.

The company called back more than 30 million vehicles in North America last year including a record 26.9 million in the US.