DETROIT — The first detailed financial report from General Motors since its bankruptcy showed a company that has largely stanched the hemorrhaging in its day-to-day business, but is still cleaning up problems left over from its collapse last year.

G.M. said Wednesday that it had positive cash flow of $1 billion in the six months after it emerged from bankruptcy protection last July, but that it lost $4.3 billion in that period, mostly because of the cost of settling with the United Auto Workers union over retiree health benefits, one of the burdens that helped bring the company to its knees.

The automaker said that with those matters behind it and the economy improving, it could make a profit in 2010, echoing previous predictions. Officials said the company made progress toward that goal in the first quarter, without being specific.

“It would be a really impressive achievement if they were able to make a profit,” said Rebecca Lindland, an analyst with the research firm IHS Global Insight. “They’ve been able to do an awful lot, and all of those things should lead to a profitable picture.”