Thursday, July 23, 2009
One-time gain boosts Ford results
Ford, the only one of the "Big Three" US carmakers not to have gone bankrupt, has reported a quarterly profit of $2.3bn (£1.4bn).
However, the profit was largely due to one-off gains related to debt restructuring, with demand for new cars remaining weak.
Excluding the gain, Ford said it made an operating loss of $424m.
Ford boss Alan Mulally said the business environment was "extremely challenging" worldwide.
Despite the economic downturn, Ford said it gained market share in all the regions in which it sells cars when compared with the second quarter of 2008.
"While the business environment remained extremely challenging around the world, we made significant progress on our transformation plan," said Mr Mulally, Ford's chief executive.
"Our underlying business is growing progressively stronger as we introduce great new products that customers want and value, while continuing to aggressively restructure our business and strengthen our balance sheet."
The figures were better than analysts had expected and Ford shares were expected to climb when US markets open later.
The profit figure included a $3.4bn gain related to measures taken to restructure its debt obligations, Ford said.
Revenue declined $11bn to $27bn.
Although Ford has managed without a US government bail-out, it has not escaped unscathed from the financial crisis and economic downturn.
The company has cut tens of thousands of jobs and closed factories to reduce costs.
It is also considering the sale of its Swedish brand Volvo to raise cash, after already selling off its luxury European brands Jaguar and Aston Martin.
DATED: 23.07.09
FEED: AW
