More Strong Earnings for Ford

Ford Motor ($F) reported another solid quarter this morning. This was Ford’s 17th profitable quarter in a row. Excluding another round of charges, Ford earned 45 cents for the third quarter which topped Wall Street’s consensus of 38 cents per share.

From the NYT:

“It was a really, really great quarter,” Robert L. Shanks, Ford’s chief financial officer, told reporters at the automaker’s Dearborn headquarters. The company’s performance was “encouraging from a number of perspectives,” with growth in wholesale volume, revenue and market share in North America, South America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

The automaker posted a combined profit for regions outside of North America for the first time since the second quarter in 2011. A $159 million pretax operating profit in South America beat Wall Street’s expectations, while a $126 million profit in Asia-Pacific, though a third-quarter record for the company, came in below an analyst consensus.

Ford’s market share in South America, where Mr. Shanks said inflation in Venezuela and Argentina could pose a problem, grew more than a full percentage point to 9.5 percent.

Ford now expects to record a total company pretax profit and automotive-related operating margin higher than last year. Previously, the company had said it expected its performance to be on a par with 2012.

“The progress and the direction is what’s really exciting,” Mr. Shanks said.

Ford also raised its outlook for this year. Before they said that this year’s pre-tax profit will match last year’s. Now they say it will beat it. I was also impressed to hear that their losses in Europe will be less than what they had last year.

Alan Mulally also said that he’ll be on the job, at least through the end of next year. The stock cracked $18 per share this morning. Shares of Ford were last over $18 in early 2011.

Posted by on October 24th, 2013 at 11:57 am


The information in this blog post represents my own opinions and does not contain a recommendation for any particular security or investment. I or my affiliates may hold positions or other interests in securities mentioned in the Blog, please see my Disclaimer page for my full disclaimer.