Ford Delivers: Strong Earnings

Ford’s recovery is now complete, if it was not already.

Ford reported second quarter net income of $2.6 billion, or $.61 per share, a $338 million improvement from second quarter 2009. Pre-tax operating profit totaled $2.9 billion, or 68 cents per share, a $3.5 billion improvement from second quarter 2009 and a $932 million improvement from first quarter 2010.Revenue for the quarter totaled $31.3 billion, up $4.5 billion from second quarter 2009; excluding Volvo revenue from 2009, the revenue increase was $7.4 billion, or over 30%.

Ford also began to alleviate the issue of whether is has enough debt to pay down its extraordinary debt load. Ford ended the quarter with $21.9 billion of Automotive gross cash and total liquidity of $25.4 billion.  Automotive operating-related cash flow was $2.6 billion positive. By the end of 2011, Ford expects to move from an Automotive net debt position to a net cash position.

For the second quarter, Ford North America reported a pre-tax operating profit of$1.9 billion, compared with a loss of $899 million a year ago. Ford South America reported a pre-tax operating profit of $285 million, compared with a profit of $86 million a year ago.

Ford Europe reported a pre-tax operating profit of $322 million, compared with a profit of $57 million a year ago. Ford Asia Pacific Africa reported a pre-tax operating profit of $113 million, compared with a loss of $27 million a year ago.

It is clear that Ford’s recovery has not just taken root in its home market–it is rooted in every area around the world.

Douglas A. McIntyre