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Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) is scheduled to release its fourth-quarter financial results before the opening bell on Thursday, January 28, 2009. Analysts, on average, currently expect the company to report earnings of 26 cents a share on revenue of $32.60 billion. In the year ago quarter, the company reported a loss of $1.37 per share on revenue of $29.20 billion.
Ford Motor Company designs, develops, manufactures, and services cars and trucks worldwide. It operates in two sectors, Automotive and Financial Services. The Automotive sector sells vehicles under Ford, Mercury, Lincoln, and Volvo brand names. It also holds a one-third stake in Mazda.
Early in November, the Dearborn, Michigan-based company said it swung to a profit of $997 million, or 29 cents a share, from a loss of $161 million, or 7 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenue fell to $30.9 billion from $31.7 billion. Analysts, on average, expected the carmaker to report a loss of 13 cents a share on revenue of $29.1 billion. Ford ended the quarter with $23.8 billion of gross cash, up $2.8 billion from the end of the second quarter.
Based on its recent performance, Ford expects total company and North American Automotive operations to be "solidly profitable" for 2011 on a pre-tax basis excluding special items, with positive automotive operating-related cash flow.
The automakers's turnaround plan has yielded fantastic outcome. The automaker’s U.S. deliveries jumped 33 percent in December, more than twice the industrywide, to cap a year in which its market share rose to 16.1 percent from 15 percent in 2008. The gain marked the first year-on-year increase in the company's market share since 1995. While November U.S. sales were virtually flat, sales increased 2.6% in October.
Ford has benefited from a relatively fresh lineup along with goodwill garnered from avoiding bankruptcy and declining to take money in a federal bailout, unlike Chrysler and GM. The automaker plans to introduce a higher number of new products in 2010. The carmaker has agressively slashed cost, addressed underperforming assetsimproved liquidity position and strengthened its balance sheet. Ford Motor Co will focus strongly in 2010 on reducing heavy long-term debt and narrowing a cash-flow edge held by its bailed-out U.S. rivals. In November, it completed its previously announced plan to extend the maturity of $7.2 billion in loans to November 30, 2013 from December 15, 2011. Last month, Ford Motor Co. said that it expects to close the deal to send its money-losing its iconic Swedish unit Volvo Cars to Chinese automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding in the second quarter of 2010.
In the recently concluded Detroit auto show, Ford Motor Co. bagged both the North American Car and Truck of the Year honors, marking only the third time a single car maker swept both awards since the accolade was first handed out 17 years ago. The Fusion Hybrid beat out the Buick LaCrosse and the Volkswagen Golf/GTI while the Transit Connect edged the Subaru Outback and the Chevrolet Equinox.
The company's stock currently trades at a forward P/E (fye 31-Dec-10) of 20.72. In terms of stock performance, Ford shares have gained 54 percent over the past year.
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