F-150 pickups drive 3rd-quarter earnings

Ford beats expectations

DETROIT: ORD RECENTLY announced a third-quarter profit of US$1.6 billion, a 63 per cent increase from one year ago.

On a per share basis, the Detroit-area automaker earned 39 cents per share, beating the 33 cents per share average, based on a FactSet survey of Wall Street analysts. That’s up from 26 cents per share a

Fyear earlier.

Revenue from sales in North America, especially trucks and SUVs, drove the better-thanexpected results under the leadership of CEO Jim Hackett, a former office furniture executive who took the helm of Ford in May.

The company is seeing higher profits generated by its F-Series pickups in the US, Canada and Mexico. In September, the average F-Series truck sold for US$2,300 more than a year ago, or US$45,400. Ford is seeing strong demand for the most expensive packages – Lariat, King Ranch, Platinum – in the Super Duty trucks and the Raptor performance version.

Ford’s revenue worldwide increased 1 per cent to US$36.5 billion during the third quarter, and its pre-tax profit jumped 40 per cent to US$2 billion.

CFO Bob Shanks said in his morning briefing: “It was a solid quarter, a good quarter. We’ve seen improvements in growth, profitability, and cash flow.”

In what analysts are calling a high-profile “second date” with Wall Street investors, CEO Hackett reported having an enormous pile of cash on hand and bigger profits on the nation’s most popular pickup truck. The F-150 pickup is a gift that keeps on giving, Hackett said in response to an investor question.

Ford said North America continues to generate most of the profit, posting earnings before taxes of US$1.7 billion, up about US$400 million, or 33