Ford Motor Company announced this morning that it posted a $2.1 billion net profit during the first quarter of 2010 and that it expects to deliver “a solid profit” over the course of 2010. The net income pushed the automaker to a pre-tax operating profit of $1.2 billion – a $1.9 billion improvement over the first quarter of 2009.
“All of our business operations – North America, South America, Europe, Asia Pacific Africa and Ford Credit – were not only profitable, but also showed substantially improved results over a year ago,” Lewis Booth, Ford executive vice president and CFO, said in a statement released to the media.
While Ford says that all of its units posted a pre-tax operating profit during the first quarter of 2010, it was North American division that led the field with a $1.2 billion pre-tax profit. That compares favorably against last year’s $664 million loss and it stems from a much higher $14.1 billion in first quarter revenue. Last year, Ford’s North American operations posted $10 billion in first quarter revenue.
Ford wrapped up the first quarter with $25.3 billion in cash, a $400 million increase over the final quarter of 2010. Earlier this month, the automaker paid down $3 billion of its 2013 revolving credit facility, although its automotive debt is still about $34.3 billion.
Production increase
The Dearborn, Michigan, automaker said that it anticipates a small uptick in demand in Europe, where the overall market could grow to between 14 and 15 million units.
While Ford says that overall demand for new cars in North America will likely be unchanged from its earlier predictions, it will look to increase domestic production by about 30,000 units during the second quarter. Ford plans to build about 625,000 cars and trucks in North America thanks to “strong consumer demand.”
Ford Credit profitable
Ford’s credit arm posted a $541 million first quarter profit, an increase over the $13 million loss it posted last year.
Still, Ford says that it anticipates that Ford Credit’s full year profit will be about par with last year’s $2.1 billion.
