I found a quote to support my speculation from this source In January  Saturn announced its first operating profit achieved in calendar  though the amount wasnt made public The workforce had grown to  by then and each employee received a profitsharing check for about  Though Saturn was still a long way from paying back GMs initial investment officials hastened to point out several benefits accruing from the new company  So my guess is when people say Saturn never turned a profit theyre meaning that GM never recouped their investment and actually made money on the line