Ford says falling sales prove costly

Ford lost £479m in the third-quarter as worldwide sales fell by 9%.

The company says sales of cars in the US fell by 15%.

Ford lost £16.6m in Europe, compared with a £153m loss last year.

It says this improvement was largely due to the introduction of new models.

Excluding £131.5m for one-time items, including costs related to the restructuring of Mazda and accounting charges, Ford lost £347m - equivalent to 28 cents per share.

That matched Wall Street expectations.

In the third quarter last year, Ford earned £614m, or 53 cents a share.

Total revenue was £25.25bn, down 9% from £28bn a year ago.

Ford president Jacques Nasser says: "This was a difficult quarter, as our results were affected by an uncertain and slowing US economy, compounded by the tragic events of September 11."