Ford swings to profit with $1-billion Q2 net income

Ford Motor Company today reported net income of $997 million, or 29 cents per share, for the third quarter of 2009 (ended 31 September) - a $1.2 billion gain compared with the third quarter of 2008.

Pre-tax operating profit was up at $1.1 billion, a $3.9 billion improvement from the previous year quarter. This is also Ford's first pre-tax operating profit since the first quarter of 2008, Ford said in a release.

After-tax profits, excluding special items, stood at $873 million, or 26 cents per share, in the third quarter compared with a loss of $3 billion, or $1.32 per share, a year ago. 
 
Ford said its North American facilities posted a pre-tax operating profit of $357 million, its first since the first quarter of 2005.

"Our third quarter results clearly show that Ford is making tremendous progress despite the prolonged slump in the global economy," said Ford president and CEO Alan Mulally.  "Our solid product lineup is leading the way in all markets.  While we still face a challenging road ahead, our One Ford transformation plan is working and our underlying business continues to grow stronger," he added.

The company reduced automotive structural costs by $1 billion, bringing the total reduction to $4.6 billion through the first nine months of 2009, and exceeding the full-year target of $4 billion, the release said.

Ford said its recovery was aided by a strong product lineup that drove market share gains in North America, South America and Europe as well as continued improvements in transaction prices and margins.
 
The company ended the September 2009 quarter with $23.8 billion of automotive gross cash, up $2.8 billion from the end of second quarter of the current year.