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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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Ford Posts $1B Q3 Profit

Surprise swing to black driven by cost cuts, Cash for Clunkers

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(AP) – Ford earned $1 billion in the third quarter, fueled by US market share gains, cost cuts, and the government's Cash for Clunkers rebates. The automaker, reporting net income of $997 million, or 29 cents per share. says it now expects to be "solidly profitable" in 2011. The company lost more than $14.6 billion in 2008 and hasn't posted a full-year profit since 2005. While it made a profit in the second quarter, that was mainly due to debt reductions that cut its interest payments.

Ford's North American car and truck division—its key business—posted a pretax profit of $357 million, its first quarter in the black since early 2005. Ford cited higher pricing, lower material costs, and increased market share for the improvement. Ford still faces obstacles in its turnaround. Last week, workers overwhelmingly rejected an agreement with the United Auto Workers that would have brought Ford's labor costs in line with rivals GM and Chrysler.

In an Oct. 26, 2009 file photo The US flag and those of other countries fly outside Ford headquarters in Dearborn, Mich.
In an Oct. 26, 2009 file photo The US flag and those of other countries fly outside Ford headquarters in Dearborn, Mich.   (Carlos Osorio)
In this photo made with a fisheye lens on Oct. 29, 2009, one of the performance Mustangs is displayed on a raiser in the lot of a Ford dealership in Wexford, Pa.
In this photo made with a fisheye lens on Oct. 29, 2009, one of the performance Mustangs is displayed on a raiser in the lot of a Ford dealership in Wexford, Pa.   (Keith Srakocic)
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16 comments
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Face-Of-RNC
Nov 2, 09 7:27 AM CST
I don't see any reason why the labor force should be giving away what it has negotiated for over the decades to a company making billion dollar profits. Corporations do not give up what they have negotiated for under any conditions. Reply
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IN RESPONSE:
RobN
Nov 2, 09 9:59 AM CST
You don't see why a healthy profitable company is better for workers in the longrun?
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-1
IN RESPONSE:
Face-Of-RNC
Nov 2, 09 10:37 AM CST
Billion dollar profits. Am I supposed to take that as meaning Ford is not healthy and now needs a bailout from working people who have already bailed out wall street?
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+1
IN RESPONSE:
RobN
Nov 2, 09 10:49 AM CST
I'm going to try this one time. Ford has been losing money for years. Years. Because of the Cash For Clunkers program and some decent new car lines, they have finally made money for the first time In Years. That does not mean they will continue to make such profits, it does not change the fact that they used virtually all the cash they had on hand when they were losing money For Years. One decent quarter does not mean they are a healthy, profitable company. The profit also takes into account the concessions by the unions who, unlike you, apparently see that having a decent auto job is better than having no auto job at all.
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IN RESPONSE:
Face-Of-RNC
Nov 2, 09 11:18 AM CST
OK, if they see that, then there is no problem as the article claims.
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+1

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