Cars and Drivers

Ford Earnings Suffer From Weak F-150 Sales

truck
Source: Ford Motor Co.
Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) reported first-quarter 2015 results before markets opened Tuesday. The automaker posted adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.23 on revenues of $33.9 billion. In the same period a year ago, the company reported EPS of $0.25 on revenues of $33.9 billion. First-quarter results also compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for EPS of $0.26 and $33.9 billion in revenues.

The consensus analysts’ estimate for second-quarter EPS is $0.40 on revenues of $36.51 billion. For the full year, the consensus estimates call for $1.59 in EPS and revenues of $142.36 billion.

North American sales were lower in all respects. Total units were down 39,000 to 678,000, revenue dropped $400 million to $20 billion, operating margin fell 0.6 point to 6.7% and pretax profit slipped by $160 million to $1.34 billion.

In the first quarter, the launch of the F-150 and Edge drove lower market share and lower dealer stock increases. Wholesale volume was down 2% from a year ago, which drove the pretax profit lower than 2014.

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Global sales were down 21,000 to 1.568 million units and revenues were down $2.1 billion to $31.8 billion. Operating margin was up 0.2 point to $3.6%, and pretax profits rose $17 million to $936 million.

South America and Europe both posted net losses, but the losses were smaller compared with losses in the first quarter of 2014. Sales rose $25 million in the Middle East, but fell $188 million in the Asia Pacific region.

Ford said that it expects 2015 to be a strong year in Asia, with results improving substantially in the second half, as compared to the first half, due to added capacity and several new product launches starting in the middle of the year. Revenue, which excludes Ford’s China joint ventures, declined 14%, reflecting lower volume and weaker currencies. Pretax profit declined primarily due to higher structural costs in support of the new products and capacity.

Mark Fields, Ford’s CEO, said:

The first quarter was a good start to a year in which our results will grow progressively stronger as the new products we have been launching start to pay offÂť. We are re-confirming that 2015 will be a breakthrough year for Ford as we continue accelerating our One Ford plan, delivering product excellence and driving innovation in every part of the business in a way that benefits all of our stakeholders.

Ford’s quarter pretty much followed the pattern we laid out in our preview. Weak sales in Europe and South America, not much help from China, and soft sales of the F-150 in the United States added up to a weak quarter.

Ford’s shares traded down about 0.6% in premarket trading to $15.80, after closing at $15.90 on Monday, in a 52-week range of $13.26 to $18.12. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $17.10 before the report.

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