CHICAGO - General Motors (GM) announced on Thursday that it earned $2.87 billion in profits in the second quarter of this year, more than doubling its earnings in the same period of last year and setting a post-bankruptcy record.

Earnings per share of the US automaker came to $1.81, higher than market analysts' expectations for $1.52 a share, and up significantly from the 67 cents a share earned a year ago.

As a result, GM has raised its earnings per share expectations for the full year to $5.5 to $6 per share, up from the $5.25 to $5.75 range a share given at the beginning of 2016.

The Detroit-based automaker attributed this record result to a strong performance in North America and China and its profitability in Europe for the first time since the second quarter of 2011.

To be specific, GM earned $3.6 billion in pretax profit in North America in the second quarter of this year, raked in $500 million through its joint venture in China, and managed a $137 million pre-tax profit in Europe.

GM's revenue in the second quarter was $42.4 billion, up 11 percent year on year.

GM's vehicles sales in the US fell 4.4 percent in the first half of this year; that in China went up 5.3 percent to a record 1.81 million units; and that in Europe rose 4.7 percent.

Globally, GM's vehicle sales totaled 4.76 million units in the first half, down 1.2 percent year on year.