General Motors Co. reported a 91% jump in its fourth-quarter profit, beating analyst expectations and capping a tumultuous year for a chief executive wrestling to revive the giant auto maker.

The Detroit company said it plans to boost its dividend starting in the second quarter. It will later this month pay about 48,000 U.S. hourly workers profit sharing checks of $9,000 based on its 2014 financial performance.

Fourth-quarter profit earnings before dividends rose to $1.99 billion compared with $1.04 billion a year earlier. Excluding some charges, the company earned $1.19 a share, handily beating analyst estimates of 83 cents a share. Revenue for the quarter was $39.6 billion, down somewhat from $40.5 billion a year ago. Net profit after dividends increased to $1.11 billion compared with $913 million a year earlier.

GM said it also intends to raise its dividend starting in the second quarter by 20% to 36 cents. The move must still be approved by the auto maker's board of directors.

"Our intention to increase the dividend is consistent with our balanced capital allocations strategy and reflects the confidence we have in growing the strength of our business," Ms. Barra said in a statement.

GM earnings come hours after Toyota Motor Corp. raised its full-year net profit outlook by 6.5% to another record high of Yen2.13 trillion ($18.1 billion)in fiscal year ending March. Toyota continues continuing to reap the benefits of a depreciating yen and strong U.S. auto market.

GM's fourth-quarter finish gives Chief Executive Mary Barra a springboard heading into 2015. She now has cash in the bank, a portfolio of new vehicles and is surrounded by a senior leadership team with a year of working together under their belts. She must now deliver on turning GM Europe profitable this year while closing the gap with rival Ford Motor Co. when it comes to profit margins in North America.

For the quarter, North America's operating profit jumped to $2.21 billion from $1.88 billion as the company's profit margins increased to 8.7% from 7.5% Much of that came from consumers spending to buy the auto maker's new cars and trucks.

Europe's loss widened to $393 million from $363 million. The results include Russia's financial performance, where the auto maker has been slashing output amid currency fluctuations. For the year, Europe lost $1.37 billion compared with $869 million.

In South America, rocked by economic turmoil, GM saw its operating profit more than double to $89 million while international operations increased to $396 million from $228 million.

Write to Jeff Bennett at jeff.bennett@wsj.com

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