Ford Reports First Quarter Earnings of $1.1 Billion
-- Earnings per share 60 cents (excluding accounting change).
-- North America margins improve from fourth quarter; Europe
profitable; South America recovery continues.
-- Ford Credit earnings up 15 percent.
-- Positive operating cash flow and strong balance sheet.
DEARBORN, Mich., April 19 Ford Motor Company
earned $1.06 billion in the first quarter of 2001. Excluding adjustments for
the new Statement of Financial Accounting Standard 133 (SFAS 133), Ford earned
$1.13 billion or 60 cents per diluted share of common and Class B stock. That
compares to $1.93 billion or 90 cents a share from continuing operations in
the first quarter of 2000, adjusted for the Value Enhancement Plan.
"Our first quarter performance shows the underlying strengths of Ford
Motor Company in an uncertain economic environment," said Jacques Nasser,
president and CEO. "We have a great team, strong brands, strong products and
a strong balance sheet. This combination provided us with the platform to
produce good results in an unsettled economic environment. This gives us a
solid foundation for 2001," Nasser said.
Ford's first quarter results were bolstered by strong performance from
Ford Credit, which improved its earnings by 15 percent to $406 million
(excluding SFAS 133).
Ford's worldwide vehicle unit sales in the first quarter were 1,805,000,
down 6 percent from 1,914,000, while revenues declined 1 percent to $42.36
billion from $42.89 billion a year ago.
AUTOMOTIVE OPERATIONS
First quarter automotive earnings (excluding SFAS 133) were $748 million,
down from $1.55 billion a year ago, primarily because of lower unit volumes in
North America from last year's record levels. Worldwide automotive revenues
were $34.65 billion, compared with $36.18 billion a year ago. Total costs,
assuming constant volume and mix, were unchanged in the 2001 first quarter
from a year ago.
Automotive gross cash at March 31 remained strong, totaling $19.1 billion,
including $3.3 billion of pre-funding employee benefit expenses through a
Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association (VEBA) trust.
North America: First quarter earnings in North America were $754 million
(excluding SFAS 133), compared to $1.67 billion a year ago. This reflects
lower industry sales and market share, and higher marketing costs. First
quarter 2001 market share and profitability also were negatively affected by
low availability of the new Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer as
production of new models ramped up. Return on sales (ROS) was 3.2 percent for
the 2001 first quarter, compared with 2.9 percent in the 2000 fourth quarter,
and 6.2 percent in the year-ago first quarter. Revenue was $23.66 billion,
compared to $27.21 billion.
Europe: Ford earned $88 million in the first quarter in Europe,
$91 million better than the first quarter a year ago. The success of the Ford
Mondeo and Ford Transit drove volumes higher, which contributed to the
improvement. Lower costs as a result of last year's restructuring actions
also contributed to results. ROS improved to 1 percent. First quarter
revenue was $8.68 billion, a 22 percent increase over $7.13 billion a year
ago, primarily reflecting the addition of Land Rover.
South America: Ford's South American operations generated their sixth
quarter in a row of improved performance. In the region, Ford had a loss of
$53 million, down from a loss of $82 million in the first quarter of last
year.
Rest-of-world: In the rest of the world, Ford's results for the first
quarter were a loss of $41 million compared to a loss of $30 million a year
ago.
FORD CREDIT
Ford Credit earned $406 million (excluding SFAS 133) in the first quarter,
up from $353 million a year ago. Including SFAS 133 adjustments, Ford Credit
had first quarter earnings of $393 million. Results were up primarily because
of higher financing volume. Improvements in investment and other income
offset higher credit losses primarily associated with the restructuring of
North American operations and lower net financing margins.
HERTZ
The Hertz Corporation posted a first quarter loss of $4 million compared
to a profit of $56 million in the 2000 first quarter. The loss reflects lower
pricing and volume as a result of the slowing U.S. economy and higher costs.
OUTLOOK
In addition to the new Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer, Ford Motor
Company's new products to be introduced this year include the Ford
Thunderbird, Lincoln Blackwood and Jaguar X-Type. Land Rover's Freelander
also will be introduced to the U.S. this year.
"We have a tremendous lineup of new products that will continue to enhance
our strong brands and set us apart from the competition," Nasser said. "The
launch of the Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer is off to a good start,
and should provide great momentum to our North American business. The
aggressive restructuring actions we took overseas are beginning to show
improved results. We also continue to focus on improving our business
structure, e-business and customer satisfaction.
"The net result of our first quarter performance was positive operating
cash flow in this challenging period and a continuing strong balance sheet.
Overall, we are confident going forward," Nasser said.
Ford Motor Company and Subsidiaries
HIGHLIGHTS
First Quarter
2001 2000
Worldwide vehicle unit sales of cars and trucks
(in thousands)
- North America 1,104 1,312
- Outside North America 701 602
Total 1,805 1,914
Sales and revenues (in millions)
- Automotive $34,650 $36,175
- Financial Services 7,711 6,719
Total $42,361 $42,894
Net income (in millions)
- Automotive $689 $1,552
- Financial Services 370 380
Income from continuing operations 1,059 1,932
- Discontinued operation - 147
Total $1,059 $2,079
Capital expenditures (in millions)
- Automotive $1,357 $1,500
- Financial Services 131 306
Total $1,488 $1,806
Automotive capital expenditures as a
percentage of sales 3.9% 4.1%
Stockholders' equity at March 31
- Total (in millions) $16,069 $28,419
- Annualized after-tax return on Common and
Class B stockholders' equity 25.7% 27.7%
Automotive net cash at March 31
(in millions)
- Cash and marketable securities $15,767 $22,848
- Debt 12,036 10,753
Automotive net cash $3,731 $12,095
After-tax return on sales
- North American Automotive 3.0% 6.2%
- Total Automotive 2.0% 4.3%
Shares of Common and Class B Stock
(in millions)
- Average number outstanding 1,840 1,206
- Number outstanding at March 31 1,830 1,205
Common Stock price (per share)
- High $31.37 $30.33
- Low 23.75 22.12
AMOUNTS PER SHARE OF COMMON AND CLASS B
STOCK AFTER PREFERRED STOCK DIVIDENDS
Income assuming dilution
- Automotive $0.36 $1.27
- Financial Services 0.20 0.31
Total continuing operations 0.56 1.58
- Discontinued operation - 0.12
Total $0.56 $1.70
Cash dividends $0.30 $0.50
