Ford ‘relying on US’ due to higher losses in Europe

Ford Motor Company yesterday said it would keep relying on North America for its profit this year as the second biggest US carmaker signaled that losses in Europe would be more than previously forecast.

Ford had previously estimated losses from Europe at about $250m (€220m) in 2015. Yesterday, however, it backed away from that forecast, saying the loss would narrow from $1bn in 2014 but would be wider than previously thought. “We’re seeing a much bigger impact from Russia,” chief financial officer Bob Shanks said.

The company’s earnings fell from the prior year, mainly due to charges for a previously announced accounting change for its Venezuela operations. Ford also maintained its 2015 profit forecast.

Shanks said the introduction of the latest version of Ford’s F-150 pickup truck was going “extremely well” in North America, where 2014 pretax earnings of $6.9bn were greater than the overall profit of $6.3bn.

In the fourth quarter, Ford’s pretax profit fell in North America and Asia.

Ford’s loss in Europe was $443m, compared with $529m a year earlier.

Net profit was $52m, or 1c per share, a decline from $3.07bn a year earlier, when results were boosted by a one-time $2.1bn special tax item.

* Reuters